


Into Ice And Snow

by Inked_Stars



Series: Winged AUs [3]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alexis | Quackity-centric, Alternate Universe - Wings, Blaze Hybrid Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Duck Hybrid Alexis | Quackity, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Ghost Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Ghost Wilbur Soot, Hurt/Comfort, Hybrids, Mutual Pining, Other, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Raccoon Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, Winged Alexis | Quackity, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 62,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29203557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inked_Stars/pseuds/Inked_Stars
Summary: He stood his wings unbound, hanging limply down his back, wingtips brushing the floor...They crested a hill, and Quackity stopped, a small cabin with smoke coming out of its chimney in the field below.Or, Quackity joins the Antarctic Anarchist Commune, and he has wings
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Series: Winged AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2124123
Comments: 400
Kudos: 956
Collections: Completed stories I've read, Purrsonal Picks





	1. Chapter 1

Quackity watched with a heavy heart as the country he had believed could be saved was blown up in front of him, no one had seen Wilbur’s disappearance as suspicious, he feels like they should have now. They had all known how far-gone the man was, ready to blow up the country with no hesitation. They had watched Tubbo’s presidential speech, allowing themselves to feel a kind of hope, that things would be different going forward.

He can see now that that hope was misplaced, as he stared across the crater, Wilbur’s final words ringing in his skull, making his head hurt. And now there was this, he stood, staring across a crevice that had opened up in the ground towards Techno, who stood in front of the pillars of soul sand he had created, the three skulls resting on top of each mound.

Quackity knew what would happen if he finished the incantations, but he didn’t dare cross the small ravine that had been exploded in L’Manburg during Wilbur’s final stand. He watched as Techno read out his last line. He turned to Tommy, who had been stood facing him the entire time.

“You want to be the hero Tommy? Then die like one!” He roared, the empty eyes of the wither skulls lit up, the previously inanimate objects drawing on life and rising up into the air, making that horrible wailing sound. It sounds like it is in pain, forcefully dragged back through two previous deaths to the land of the living.

He runs for cover, the bandages around his torso straining as he desperately tries to escape. He brandishes his sword and bow, prepared to go down fighting. He doesn’t throw himself into the fray though, sticking towards the back, unwilling to get slashed by Dream or Techno who were trying to prevent anyone from getting hits on the wither.

The one time he looks over his shoulder, towards the mostly unharmed part of L’Manburg, he sees George, stood there, mouth slightly agape, crown tilting to the side. He snaps his head back around, unwilling to make eye contact with the person who had condemned this place in the start.

He watches as one wither goes down, ribcage bursting open, revealing the one nether star that is formed through the incantations, he watches as a person, he can’t clearly see who it is through all the smoke, pries it free from the monster. He watches as the other goes down, another person ripping that nether star loose.

He watches as a person tries to get the first to hand the star over, as they refuse, they pull out their sword, and the other pulls out theirs in retaliation. It would seem that no one knows how to be peaceful here, no matter how many times they fight, and win, they will always return to it. It’s a vicious cycle.

He scoffs, turning and trudging away, intent on removing the bandages before they start to hurt his ribs. He doesn’t care as much about what he is binding, he does it for a reason. Pushing open his door, he sighs in relief at his untouched rooms, the contents only slightly strewn across the floor from his frantic scramble to leave just after Schlatt had torn down the White House.

He brushes the dust from the counter tops, hopping up and sitting on one as he pulls his shirt off. He winces at the bruising around his chest, just above and below the areas swathed in bandages, he does it for a reason, he reminds himself. It’s worth it, he promises himself, he does it for a reason.

He unravels the bandages, their colouring slightly yellow for how long he’s been using them. He winces as he pulls them away from his skin, knowing they had been there for too long as he pulls out another roll of bandages.

He glances over his shoulder quickly, sees that the ugly yellow wings are still fixed firmly on his back, the way they had been since he had turned twelve. He had known it was coming, his whole family were Avians. Or, well, they had been Avians, he supposes dead people don’t really count towards any type of anything anymore. They’re dead.

He sighs, manually stretching the wings out, not even bothering to try and do it without, knowing the muscles had slowly withered away over the seven years he had bound them, they were more so a few yellow feathers clinging to a bit of skin and bone, he doesn’t think wings are meant to look like this, he caught a glance of Phil’s wings just as he killed his son, the wings sleek and glossy, rippling with obvious muscle. He almost felt jealous, before he reminded himself, you are doing this for a reason.

He bound his wings against his back tightly again, slipping his shirt back over his head. He stood up with a sigh, time to go discuss matters with his new cabinet members. He had been sure that they all agreed to put him in as president. He ignored the niggling voice at the back of his head reminding him that he was better suited to the position.

He pushed out of the door and went to meet his new president formally.

…

Three days later, he stood beside Schlatt’s funeral hearse; he didn’t know why he was there. He just felt like the bitch needed seeing off, just in a different way than was probably normal at a funeral. He opened the lid, and watched as his fellow attendees began to pull the man’s body apart. Quackity stood there, holding his heart.

It wasn’t bloody like he expected, it was almost dry, the blood slightly sticky. It didn’t look healthy, but he supposed that he did die of a heart attack. He stowed the heart in his inventory as Bad tried to regain the slight composure they’d had before.

He watched, feeling the weight of the heart he had stolen heavy in his inventory. He sat, in numb silence as the fact that the man was dead sunk in, he sat in his numb silence, until the funeral ended, getting up and leaving with the other guests.

…

He stood, his wings unbound, hanging limply down his back, wingtips brushing the floor as he stared at the heart on his counter. He doesn’t know why he took it, and he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with it. He can’t return it, the coffin’s in the ground, he might have stolen the man’s heart, but he wasn’t a grave robber.

He looked back at the heart, he picked it up. 

He bit into it.

…

He stood on the obsidian walls, wings begging to flare up as he watched Dream and Tubbo make an agreement, they stared down at Tommy, who was below the wall, outside of L’Manburg, the country he had given everything up for.

He stood, letting the rain soak his clothes as he watched Tubbo exile Tommy, banish his best friend, he felt his own heart shatter at the heartbreak on Tommy’s face. His heart turned cold again as he took in Tubbo’s impassive look, they stood and watched as Tommy was led away. 

Quackity edged away from Tubbo, unsure as to how to act around the president now. If he could exile his own best friend that easily he didn’t want to know what he would do to him. Tubbo turned to him, still cold and impassive in the face of his friend’s exile.

“I suppose you’re our permanent Vice President now Quackity, welcome back to the position.” After he finished he stepped off, and made his way back down the walls. Quackity felt frozen in the rain, the cold slowly seeping into his bones until he stood alone, shivering pathetically in the rain.

He walked home slowly, turning his thoughts over slowly in his head.

“Hey, hey! Flatty Patty, you aren’t ignoring me, are you?”

“Not now Schlatt.” He continued walking, ignoring the apparition following him like a shadow. The spectre had appeared soon after he had eaten the man’s heart. He was the only one able to see the ghost, he knew that, so he didn’t make a habit of responding to him, lest it encourage him to start bothering him more.

He pushed open the door, his thoughts condensing into more of a plan as he changes into dry clothes, redoing the bandages as he does so. He ignores Schlatt, not wanting to see the horror on his face as he observed the wings, one lecture from a ghost was all he needed. He knew the wings looked shitty, but he didn’t want them, so he pretended he didn’t hear him.

He moved over to a bookshelf, pulling his map out from where it was tucked away. He made it his purpose to track and record the location of everyone on the sever, including those who wanted to disappear. He knew a perfect place to disappear himself, whilst also ensuring that he wouldn’t die.

Tucking the map into his inventory, he went around gathering the items he wanted to take with him, pulling on his armour and storing his weapons, he grabbed some food and a boat, knowing it was a long journey he had ahead of him.

He set out towards the docks under the cover of darkness, Schlatt trailing behind him.

…

His small boat rocked on the choppy waves, getting him a bit wet as the surf splashed over the edge. He grumbled as he rowed, but ultimately unable to do anything about it. Schlatt floated a small distance above him, watching as he struggled but unable to help, even if he wanted, the water would melt his form away, leaving him stuck in the dark to reform and leaving Quackity alone.

He rowed with more vigour, seeing land in the distance. He rowed closer, breaking the thin sheets of ice as he did so, bumping into land he stood in his boat, wobbling before stepping out. He stretched his legs, thankful for the solid ground underneath his feet once again.

He doesn’t think he will ever be able to get used to the rocking of a boat, not even if he lived on one for the rest of his life. It just made him feel unbalanced as if he were about to fall flat on his face. He wobbled slightly as he over compensated for the rockiness he had gotten used to on his several day journey.

He pulled some bread out of his inventory, the last of his stock. He walked as he ate, talking amicably with Schlatt as he made his way across the frosty terrain. They moved through several patches of taiga forest, Schlatt swearing he had seen an arctic fox, but Quackity failed to believe him, they were rare and he was not about to go running about in a freezing forest to follow the truth of a dead man.

He continued walking, seeing several packs of normal foxes and a few wolves, but other than that it was just him and Schlatt. They filled the silence with talking, they had gotten used to the other’s company after a few days of it just being the two of them, Schlatt had apologised for his actions, and Quackity had forgiven him, but not fully. Schlatt had understood, him apparently being aware of how shitty of a person he had been when alive, and not trying to make excuses for his actions.

They crested a hill, and Quackity stopped, a small cabin with smoke coming out of its chimney in the field below. He turns to Schlatt, “Okay, so like, me and the dude here, not the best of terms when we last saw each other, so if it turns south I’m just gonna run and hope for the best.”

Schlatt looked at him, most likely concerned for the former vice president’s sanity.

Quackity strode into the field below, removing his armour as he went, not wanting to appear as a threat. As he approached the house, he saw Phil step outside, still talking to whoever was still inside. He stopped as he saw Quackity approaching.

“Uh, can you give me a few seconds mate?”

He stands at the bottom of the steps as Phil approaches him, “Why on earth are you here? There’s a high chance that if Techno sees you he will kill you.”

Quackity takes a deep breath, he cannot afford to return to L’Manburg, so this needs to go well.

“I’ve come to join your anarchist commune, it sounded good and I want in, I’m done with governments, they corrupt people,” he turns his gaze downwards as he sees Techno leave the house, “Techno was right.”

“See Phil, I told you some people have some sense in them. Come inside Quackity, you look cold and I assume you’ve been travelling for a while.

Grateful he hurries up the stairs, leaving Phil stood out in the snow, confused.

As he enters, he feels Techno tug him closer by the collar, “If you betray me or Phil, I will not hesitate to kill you, okay?”

Quackity nods, just grateful they had let him in.

Schlatt laughs behind him at Quackity’s shocked face. He mentally tells him to piss off


	2. Chapter 2

Quackity looked around the small room they had placed him in, the cabin seemed bigger on the inside than it was on the outside, not that he was complaining, he would rather not share a room with one of the other residents.

He pokes his head out of the door, checking there was no one around before withdrawing back into his room and shoving a chair under the door handle. There was no lock so it would have to do, he didn’t want anyone walking in whilst he was sorting out the wings.

He pulls his shirt off, ignoring the pointed look Schlatt shoots him from the corner of the room, he doesn’t need his pity. He pokes at his ribs, wincing at the way they protest even such a light touch, he unravels the bandages from where they’re bound tight around his upper back. He honestly didn’t know how his wings, which must stretch to at least a sixteen-foot wingspan, were able to be bound so tightly and hidden under his thin shirt.

He begins to manually stretch his wings out, before someone knocks on the door, he freezes in his movements, turning to slowly face the door, as he holds one wing outstretched, the other limply falling behind him.

“You in there Quackity?”

It’s Phil, oh fuck, it’s Phil. He rushes for his shirt and bandages, sloppily wrapping them a few times around the extra appendages before shoving his shirt back on, causing his beanie to almost slip off his head before he roughly fixes it.

He tries to walk calmly over to the door, slowly moving the chair out of the way so he can open it, he pulls the door open to reveal Phil. The man looks slightly worried, most likely having heard the disturbance Quackity had caused in his panic. Going for a casual feel he leaned up against the doorframe, forcing his posture to relax.

“Heyy Phil.” He winces at his own voice, he even sounds guilty, “what are you doing here? I didn’t think I’d see you for a while.” He chuckles, awkwardly trailing off.

“I live here.”

“yep, yep, course you do.”

He felt like an idiot, and Phil was smirking at him, lips slightly upturned in the corners as he watched the man in front of him try to compose himself. He stood up straight, pushing off of the doorframe and waltzing out into the hallway. He knew the casualness was forced, and he had a feeling that Phil knew as well. Yet the man didn’t push, he just walked in front of him, heading to wherever it was that he felt the need to drag Quackity to.

Quackity followed behind him, shivering slightly in his thin clothes, he knew that he had been heading to the arctic, but this was ridiculous. He was inside still, and he was already cold, he ignored Schlatt’s murmurs of how warm he was, knowing that the man was just trying to piss him off.

He followed Phil down a series of ladders, and he kind of felt like he was being taken to a murder, he was wrong, thankfully, instead he emerged into a basement full of villagers. He didn’t know whether murder or this was worse, he looked at all the villagers that were trapped in a small area. He averted his gaze from their eyes, feeling awkward.

He trails after Phil, eyes downcast as to not make eye contact with any of the villagers, he stopped as Phil did. Looking around the man he saw what villager Phil was bartering with, it looked like a weaver, if the loom in front of them was anything to go by. Phil placed a few emeralds down on the table and the villager conceded, handing over a bundle of something wrapped in brown paper and fastened with string. The bundle was large, making Quackity wonder what it was, he hoped to find out as he followed after Phil as the man made his way back upstairs.

He stopped and sat in front of the fire, patting for Quackity to sir down next to him on the rug. He did so, sitting down stiffly and crossing his legs underneath himself. He watched with curiosity as Phil unwrapped the package, pulling the string away and letting the brown paper fall apart.

It revealed, blue fabric, Quackity felt slightly confused and disappointed, until Phil turned towards him, shoving the fabric, which he now realised was clothes, into his arms.

“These are for you, your normal attire,” he glances up and down Quackity’s clothes, making him feel slightly uncomfortable, “is not suited for the weather we see here. I think you would rather those clothes in the long run.”

Quackity held onto the clothes, unsure as to what he’s meant to be doing with them. He just sits there, holding onto the clothes in front of the roaring fire as Phil sits across from him, wings tucked neatly behind his back as he watches Quackity.

He gets up slowly, still gripping the clothes in his arms, “Thank you?” It comes out sounding more like a question. He lays the clothes out along the table, trying to figure out how to wear it, there’s too much fabric and he’s not sure how it all fits together, he looks back to Phil for help.

The man gets up, heading over towards where Quackity is stood, he pulls a white shirt out of the pile, then a pair of dark trousers. He takes them gratefully and turns to move somewhere more private.

“Where are you going? You can change here, I won’t look,” Quackity hesitates before slowly beginning to slip the trousers he was wearing off, true to his promise Phil is turned around, not watching him as he sorts through the pile, apparently looking for something. He slips the trousers back on before quickly pulling his shirt off.

He sees Schlatt out of the corner of his eye, he knows that the ghost disapproves of the treatment he gives his own wings, but he can’t exactly yell out to Phil. He watches as the ghost reaches for a vase of flowers, Quackity quickly begins to realise what the man is doing, making cut-it-out motions with his hands as the man reaches towards the vase, beginning to tip it. He stands there, mostly frozen, shirt hanging from his grip as the vase tips towards the floor and breaks with a shatter.

The sound causes Phil to whip around, obviously startled, his wings flaring slightly behind him as he does so, Quackity has his back facing the man and he knows the wings have been seen, they’re a bright, golden yellow after all. He hunches his shoulders up, tensing as he waits for Phil’s reaction.

He glares at Schlatt, who is just floating over the mess he had made on the floor, grinning at him smugly. He flips him off, ignoring the way his grin stretches wider, glad to have gotten a reaction out of him.

“Quackity.” He freezes again, turning around slowly, shirt dangling from his grip.

“Heyy Phil.” The man doesn’t look angry, he just looks sad, a look that makes Quackity feel guilty, the man’s eyes seem larger and darker with the sadness that pools in them.

“Quackity,” he repeats, “what have you done to your wings.” He sounds so sad, he sounds hurt and it’s making Quackity feel worse than he already does.

“I, uh, I bound them?” He doesn’t know what else to say, it’s the truth, but it doesn’t seem to make Phil any happier. The man begins to move towards him, abandoning the pile of fabric he had been tending to on the table.

“How long Quackity.” He gulps, he doesn’t like where the conversation is going, and he can hear Schlatt snickering behind him. He whirls back around, not caring if Phil thinks he’s crazy.

“Okay, you can shut up, this isn’t funny.” He fumes, as Schlatt continues to cackle, louder than before.

He turns back to Phil, who somehow looks more worried than before.

“Okay, I’m going to ignore that for now and instead get those bandages off of your wings so I can properly assess the damage caused. You still haven’t answered my question,” he walks up behind him and begins to unwrap the bandages, “how long have you been binding them for?”

“Since around about the time they grew in, I think?”

Phil’s hands still, stopping halfway through unwrapping, he continues on with a heavy sigh. It makes Quackity feel small, smaller than he had felt before, he had known that the two were taller than him, he just didn’t remember how much taller they actually were.

Phil unwraps the last line of bandaging, allowing Quackity’s wings to come loose. They instantly dropped down, the muscles too wasted away to hold the weight of them, he feels as the wingtips make contact with the floor, sending a shiver up his spine at the contact with the cold ground.

Phil picks the shirt up, before grabbing a needle, some thread and a pair of scissors, he grabs a long, warm looking overcoat and takes that as well. He sits himself down in a chair beside the fire, before taking the sharp scissors to the beautifully woven fabric. He watches as Phil deftly cuts the material, forming two long slits down the back of the shirt, then the overcoat.

He watches with interest, making his way over to sit by the fire, as Phil begins to stitch around the holes he had made, but instead of sewing the holes up, he appears to be stitching the edges. “It’s to prevent the edges from fraying.” He explains, obviously well-practiced in what he is doing as he looks up at Quackity whilst stitching.

“I have to modify all the clothes I buy, the villagers don’t understand that wings can’t go through fabric.” That made sense to Quackity, but he was reluctant to have it done for his clothes, he didn’t particularly want to have his wings out for everyone to see, he hid them for a reason. He didn’t dare to stop Phil though, slowly stretching the wings out with his hands as the man finishes stitching the overcoat, moving onto the shirt, which he completes much quicker than the coat.

He stands from the chair, chucking him the shirt and moving back over to the pile of fabrics, dumping the coat next to them. Quackity quickly pulls the shirt on, glad for the warmth it brings. He slips his wings through the slits easily. He’s annoyed at how much more comfortable it is for him, reluctant to admit that this was better.

He tucks the shirt into the trousers, feeling like these clothes were too fancy to be left untucked. He walks over to Phil’s side, who turns to him. He is handed a belt of sorts, which has three diamond shapes sown onto it, he holds it uncertain of what he’s meant to do. Phil turns to him.

“Wrap it around your stomach, around there,” he points, “Act as if it is just a belt.” Quackity does so, looking up to Phil on what he was being forced into next.

Phil grabs a thin bit of fabric, and tugs Quackity closer before beginning to wrap it around his waist, over the top of the belt, hiding the belt part from view, tightening it as he pulls. After winding it around a few times he gives it one last tug, before tucking the loose bit of material into the wraps he had previously created.

He then grabs the overcoat, which is the last thing left on the table, he shoves it towards Quackity, and he puts it on, slipping his wings through the slits that Phil had kindly put in, not bothering to protest. The clothes felt incredibly warm, and he was glad for it. They were fancier than any clothes he thinks he’s ever worn before, he wasn’t complaining though, it made him feel snazzy.

Phil looks down at his scuffed trainers with a slight distaste before grabbing his arm and pulling him back towards the ladder, Quackity stumbles slightly, his wings a different distribution of weight across his back, before he lets himself get dragged by Phil.

Schlatt just watches him, smirking. Quackity knew that Schlatt had been worried for the health of his wings, but did he have to reveal it in such an obnoxious way. He climbs down the ladder hastily after Phil almost shoves him down it, he must have really hated his shoes. He hears a door opening in the room above as Phil climbs down after him.

They re-enter the villager room, and Phil makes his way over to the leather worker, he leans over the counter, inspecting the man’s goods before gesturing to Quackity. The leatherworker cranes his head around Phil’s wings, looking towards Quackity’s shoes before pulling out a pair of boots and handing them over for quite the number of emeralds.

Phil drops the boots at his feet, watching Quackity as he pulls off the raggedy trainers and pulls on the new boots. Okay, he has to admit that the boots are nicer than his old trainers, they provide better support and come further up his leg.

He can hear who he presumes to be Techno moving around upstairs and follows Phil as he climbs the ladder.

He doesn’t see Phil when he emerges into the basement, so he moves further up, into the longue, where Phil and Techno are already settled, the latter wearing glasses. Quackity didn’t know he needed them.

As he enters Techno looks up and gives and approving nod before going back to the book he was holding, the piglin hybrid obviously disinterested in whatever in happening around him. Phil however does not leave Quackity alone so easily.

“Do you like the new clothes?”

Quackity nods, “They’re very nice, thank you for getting them for me.” He hopes he sounds sincere.

“Good, good,” the man appears to consider something, “Quackity, do you hear voices in your head?”

That gets Techno’s attention.


	3. Chapter 3

Quackity gulped at that, unsure on how to answer the question, he did have voices in his head, or more so, just the one. Schlatt was silent for once, he didn’t have any funny quip, he didn’t even begin to laugh at Quackity’s misfortune.

Quackity just looked at Phil, who looked back at him in concern. The firelight washed over Phil’s features, making him seem softer in the sympathy somehow. Quackity fidgets with the weird apron looking thing that was attached to the belt. He likes the new clothes and he likes the way the fabric feels between his fingers as he rubs it.

“What do you mean voices.” He eventually squeaks out, feeling rather pathetic as he turns his gaze down towards the carpet. He begins to fiddle with the rug as well, picking at a loose string absentmindedly.

“I mean, do you hear voices in your head, asking you for things.”

“You know it’s alright if you do,” Techno butts in, and Quackity jerks his head up in surprise at his input, “I hear voices, and Phil does sometimes as well. It probably won’t be as bad as mine are, they can get pretty overwhelming.”

Quackity is slightly taken aback, not expecting Techno or Phil to try and make him comfortable. He was also taken aback by Techno’s admission, he hadn’t expected the man to expose a potential weakness.

“I don’t hear voices, at least not plural,” he stops, unsure of how to go on, Schlatt had moved to hover by his shoulder, staring over it at the two people on the sofa. The fire makes it seem like he’s alive again, full of colour instead of the washed out colour he had been since he had first appeared.

He turned back to men in front of him, “You know how people kind of, destroyed Schlatt’s body at the funeral?”

He receives a weird look from Phil and a nod from Techno. Quackity had thought he saw Techno at the back whilst they were going through the coffin, but when he turned back, the heart tucked away, the man had been gone, as if he had never been there. Quackity was sure that he had seen the man that day now.

“Well, some people stole his bones, other people stole his organs, and I,” he paused for a breath, “and I was involved in the coffin ransacking. I stole his heart.” He blurted out, ripping the plaster off and all.

The two men looked at him, “Okay? How does that relate to hearing voices.”

“Well, I ate it,” that got him two equally disgusted looks, which was fair enough, “and then Schlatt just started popping up, well, Schlatt’s ghost did at least. He’s right there now.” He pointed over to the fireplace where the ram hybrid was stood, it caused the tow to look where he was pointing. Schlatt seemed unused to the attention being on him and shrank back slightly, but not much.

“So, you basically now have an annoying ghost following you everywhere.”

That was a large oversimplification, but he’d take it. “Pretty much yeah.” He conceded, Schlatt sent him a dirty look that was somehow both annoyed and hurt. He laughed, causing Phil and Techno to look at him.

“Sorry, sorry, he just shot me the dirtiest look as I agreed with you, he seems to dislike being called annoying, even though he is when he sings one song in your ear throughout every single cabinet meeting you’ve had to attend.”

Phil laughs at the same time Schlatt does, “You know I’ve gotta make it entertaining for you mate.” Quackity does not agree with that, it was less than entertaining and more distracting, the more cabinet meetings he went to, the more obnoxious the singing became.

“Sure, it was ‘entertaining’.” He made sure to put heavy sarcasm on the last word, making sure that Schlatt knew that he did not, in fact, find it entertaining.

“However interesting listening to you having what is basically a one-sided conversation is, I would like to continue reading my book at some point this afternoon.”

Quackity shut up after that, instead having a staring competition with Schlatt from across the room, who seemingly took that as a challenge to not blink for as long as possible. Phil sat watching the fire for a while, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, everyone did their own thing for a while.

Phil stood up suddenly, rising from the chair quickly, wings fanning out behind him slightly. The other occupants of the room looked towards him.

“Quackity, come outside with me, I want to do something.” Quackity stood up with no complaint, these people were graceful enough to house him, the least he could do was do things when the asked him to.

He followed behind Phil as the man pushed his way outside. A small flurry of snow blew inside, the wind whipping at his face and biting at his cheeks, it was a cold wind, but Phil pushed through it, seemingly accustomed to the biting cold.

Quackity crunched through the snow after him as the man made his way out into the field in front of the cabin. He shivered, slightly regretful to have left the fireplace’s warmth behind. Schlatt followed behind him, obviously curious as to what they were doing, he didn’t shiver, ghosts seemed to be immune to everything about life.

Phil stopped and turned on his heel, creating a small gap in the snow from where he turned. He spread his wings out behind him, and Quackity began to realise why they were there. He groaned.

“Don’t be so down, I just want you to do some exercises, see if we can get you flying by the end of the month.”

Phil bent himself into a crouched stance, similar to one you would use for fighting, but the legs were spread wider and he dropped a little lower, Quackity followed his movements with a huff. He almost fell over after ten seconds, surprised at how weak his legs actually were.

“One of the most important part for Avians is taking flight, and we generally push up from the ground, meaning our legs need to be strong. This is one of the exercises that I do to ensure that strength is still there. It also helps your core strength, which is key for actually flying.”

Quackity took the information in, knowing that it would be useful if he wanted to actually begin to keep his wings healthy.

Phil moved out of the position after a few minutes, and Quackity followed suit, his legs shaking with the new strain that had been put on them.

“Another thing we’re going to need to do for you is build up the muscle in his wings, you’ve let the muscle waste away.” He made his way over to Quackity and picked up one of his wings from where it had been trailing in the snow. He knew that it was bad that they could barely lift themselves up, let alone keep them in a tucked position.

“We should begin with you manually stretching out your wings and moving them around. Once they get strong enough to move on their own you do the same exercises, just without the help of your hands.”

He quickly demonstrated a few exercises for Quackity to do, him following Phil’s movements closely, unwilling to let the feathers drag in the snow for much longer, preferring the way Phil’s wings seemed to tuck up against his back, keeping them out of the way.

Spending this much time with Phil was beginning to make him feel bad about the condition of his wings.

He continues to stretch his wings, more determined than before to keep them in a better condition.

“You should probably try to do these exercises at least twice a day.” Quackity just nodded, absentmindedly listening as he follows his task.

He hears a shout in the distance, far-off. He glances to where the noise came from, him and Phil standing shoulder to shoulder as they try to figure out who it is. The person comes over the same hill him and Schlatt had, meaning that they’re from the L’Manburg area.

The person comes bounding closer, and as they get closer he begins to make out their features. He knows who it is as soon as the bright yellow jumper comes into view. Ghostbur. 

It’s not that he dislikes the ghost, he hadn’t seen him since Schlatt appeared anyway, he just found him annoying, with his upbeat personality and happiness that seems too forced.

He notices Schlatt coming to his shoulder, eyes darkening as he watches Ghostbur come closer. He can’t help but wonder if he envies the other ghost, Schlatt had remembered everything about his life, the good and the bad, whilst Ghostbur was able to just shake off everything bad and avoid it all.

That was another reason he wasn’t as fond of the ghost. He avoided any and all conversations that threatened to destroy the small shelter he had built around himself. He refused to face the mistakes that Alivebur had made, ignoring it all in the favour of handing out some blue. 

As the man came closer, he seemed to notice Schlatt, bounding over to him first. He shoves some blue in the man’s face, almost smearing some of it all over the man’s blue sweater. He reluctantly takes some, which instantly stains his hands blue in the same way Ghostbur’s were.

That must look weird to Phil, just a piece of blue floating in the air, he wonders if he can see the blue stains on his hands as well. He looks back over to Ghostbur who was turning towards him, more blue in his hands yet again. He doesn’t know how he seems to have a constant supply of it, despite having no reliable way to get it.

He holds some out to him, which Quackity refuses, hiding his hands behind his back so that it can’t be forced into his hands in the same way he had with Schlatt. Ghostbur looks disappointed, holding the blue out for a moment longer, the ink beginning to drip down his hands into the snow below. It turns it a light blue colour, almost a cornflower blue with how light it is.

Ghostbur turns towards Phil last and holds the blue out to him, his grin smaller now, disappointed at Quackity’s refusal of the blue. He holds some out to Phil, who takes it gracefully, stowing it away in his inventory quickly before it can stain his hands too blue. Phil turns towards Quackity, apparently sees Schlatt’s hands, which are now stained completely blue, he hadn’t thought to tuck it away before that could happen.

He freezes for a moment before ignoring the literal disembodied hands right next to Quackity. Instead, he begins to head towards the house. The small party follows after him as he walks up the stairs and pushes the door open, releasing a blast of heat as the wind outside combats with the heat of inside.

Quackity walks in, gratefully soaking the heat up as he sits himself back next to the fireplace, back against the flames, his feather feeling frozen together as he warms them up. He sits and soaks the heat up for a while, zoning out of the conversation around him and allowing the heat to seep into his bones.

Once he feels as though he has fully warmed up, he pulls a wing around to face him, he stares the golden feathers down as the sit in front of him, unable to move on their own due to his own mistreatment. He begins to run his fingers through the feathers, releasing the long bent out of place feathers and discarding the dust and muck that had built up over his stay on the Dream SMP.

The dirtiness of his wings had itched at first, distracting him from his duties. He had resolutely ignored the feeling until it had gone away, he had been relieved at the disappearance of his irritation that he no longer bothered to take care of his wings. He was slightly regretful of that now, despite him having good reasoning.

He knew that Dream would clip his flight feathers, he had banned flying after all, the only reason he hadn’t done it to Phil was because he knew Techno would kill him. He supposed the man didn’t want to risk it. He couldn’t blame him.

…

The man pushed the door open, still slightly squeaky on its hinges, pushing it open fully, he saw the disarray the room beyond was in, almost as if someone had left in a hurry. He was followed closely by another man, him treading slowly behind the first.

They moved through the rooms, noting the way that most items had been left, those that Quackity had deemed valuable taken with him. Most of the items were left. One of them moved over to the bookshelf, noting how only one of the books was pulled out, then discarded on the table. He picked up the book, flicking through the pages. It seemed a simple book, one on coordinates and how to follow them. The edges were well-worn, obviously a loved book.

It made them wonder why it was left behind when everything else that Quackity has treasured was taken. He turned back around as the other re-entered from where he had been looking in the bedroom.

“No sign of him, not even a clue as to where he went.” He huffs, flopping down on the sofa, disappointed and upset.

“hey now, we’ll find him, he’s left a few clues it seems.” He brandishes the coordinates book, he flipped to the back cover, where several sets of coordinates were scrawled. It was in Quackity’s neat handwriting, the numbers clear.

They made eye contact, it was a long list of coordinates, most in distant places, it would seem their work was cut out.

They stood, pulling their armour on and withdrawing their supplies from their enderchests. Reading the first coordinate aloud, they pulled out their comms and began to follow it to its destination.


	4. Chapter 4

Quackity, folded his wings behind him with his hands, trying to move them into a comfortable position as he sat and read. He flipped the page, Phil had handed him a book on hybrids without saying a word, Quackity took it in a similar fashion.

He had read through the Avian pages first, there was very little information that he didn’t already know from his own research. Despite what many people might have though of him, he enjoyed finding new things out and he liked to read, but in L’Manburg he was considered the person who just followed behind anyone in charge.

He flipped through the other pages, the book was extensive in its knowledge, it also lacked a lot of the bias that most books on hybrids had. He was glad to have found one like this. He moved onto the nether hybrids section, feeling as though it should be appropriate to research a little about the people he spent time around.

He flipped through the pages, reaching the entries on piglins. He already knew that they had a tendency for violence, it was a well-known part of their nature. He didn’t know much else about them though, apparently they were fiercely loyal to all of those that they trusted, Quackity could see the truth in that, when Techno had been on Pogtopia’s side he had been extremely loyal to those around him and had even supplied items to their revolution.

They would also apparently take any kind of betrayal to heart, and Quackity now feels slightly guilty over the way he had taken the man’s tools then set up a government right in front of him. He had known that Techno hated governments, yet he still did it anyway.

He continued to read, moving over the page onto blaze hybrids. He slowly made his way through the book, skipping over ram and dog hybrids, knowing enough about those already. He sat in front of the fire for the few hours that he read the book for. Schlatt read over his shoulder, making the occasional comments about the text as they read.

Schlatt seemed to enjoy being able to add some facts to the hybrids he read about, apparently he had known several different hybrids in his lifetime, and had met many others, he had an expansive knowledge on the history of hybrids, apparently having researched it himself.

His reading had been interrupted then as Schlatt gave him a history lesson. He wonders how weird it looked to the others, him just sitting back and seemingly asking questions to thin air. Ghostbur had floated over to them halfway through, settling himself down next to Quackity and listening to Schlatt’s speech.

Quackity allowed him to sit there, and he allowed him to join in the communal reading when he returned to the book. He came to the last few pages, going over the hybrids that come from the end, these were more rare than any other type, which is why they were right at the end, compared to Avians being right at the start as the most common occurrence of hybrids.

He closed the book, standing up and stretching his arms out, he winced as a few joints cracked, the bones snapping back into place. He brushed his wings behind him, letting them trail behind him like a feathered cape.

He moved over to the door, Schlatt and Ghostbur following behind him, intent on completing his stretches.

…

The first set of coordinates were about two thousand blocks out from where Quackity’s house was, they followed the coordinates, coming close as they entered a desert. They trudged over sand dunes, coming upon a half-buried desert temple, the entrance barely peeking above the sand.

The first moved towards the entrance, much more well-adapted for the heat than his companion, the other trailed behind him, less adapted for the heat and more for the cold.

They moved into the temple, digging the sand out and flinging it into the surrounding desert. The inside is empty and cool, seemingly untouched if the cobwebs in the corners are anything to go by. It looks un-looted, so they head into the part where all the items are stored, making sure to steer clear of the pressure plate that would trigger the traps in place.

The loot the chests, coming out with a few diamonds, some horse armour and a saddle. They move up out of the temple, back onto the sand. The sun beats down, reflecting back off of the snad and causing the air to waver in the heat. The desert is empty apart from the two men, and a few cacti scattered around.

“He’s not here by the looks of it.”

“No, I think we should head back to L’Manburg then head out from there.”

He pulls out his comms, and they begin to follow the saved coordinates back home.

…

Quackity stood in the snow, stretching his wings for what felt like the hundredth time, he knew it couldn’t be, him only having been there a few days and stretching his wings twice per day, it was more like the sixth time.

He drops his hands from the wing, but continues to try and hold the appendage up on its own, his wing trembled with the effort, him almost giving up after a few seconds. He kept the wing up for a few seconds more, before he dropped it back down. He repeated the action with the other wing, making sure he doesn’t strain the muscles too much.

He’s just glad that the muscle is beginning to come back, his wings were looking better than they had in years, most likely due to the fact that he hadn’t taken care of them in so long. The feathers shone golden in the sun, making it look like his wings were made of pure gold. He had tried to keep them away from Techno when they were shining like that, he knew that the piglin hybrid liked any and all things that were gold, most likely including his wings.

He moves back towards the house to tell Phil that he had held the wings on their own, he was proud of the progress in the few days he had been there, and he was sure that Phil would be too. The two ghosts that had taken to following him around floated after him, Schlatt flicking his ear in annoyance as Ghostbur continued to chat away.

It was slightly irritating, the ghost never seemed to stop talking, just continuing on and on until the person either fell asleep or ran away from him, not that either of those were easy to do.

He shoved the door open with one shoulder, brushing his cloak down from any snow that had collected on it whilst he was outside. His wings dragged a bit of snow in behind him as they scraped along the floor, still too weak to properly tuck themselves up for long periods of time.

He moved to the main room, where the fire was roaring. He took his usual spot by the fire, he was grateful for the cushions that had been provided for him to sit on, the stone floor got uncomfortable after a while.

He settled in front of the fire, allowing the fire to melt the ice from his bones as he brought his wings around to preen. He began with the undersides, threading his fingers through the feathers there, removing any clumps of snow and detangling feathers. He didn’t really have a problem with dirt anymore, it was more so the snow that would get stuck in the feathers, the wind blowing it into flurries which battered against his face.

He pulled one of the books he was reading from its place on the table, he opened it to the page he had left off at.

…

The two moved through a taiga, one of them feeling much more at home than the other in the forest. The reluctant one was being dragged along by his companion, towards where the coordinates were.

“I just don’t see why you don’t like it. It’s basically a second home for me.” The first one seemed to be attempting to convince his travelling partner that it was a nice place, he didn’t seem to be succeeding.

“You know just one stray spark from me and this whole place goes up in flames, right? You can see the reluctance there.”

“But you won’t,” the first one continued, ignoring the grumbling of the man beside him, dragging him along easily, “I trust that you won’t.”

He glances down at his comms, checking the coordinates, before heading in another direction.

“We’re almost there!”

They come across what looks to be a resource plenty cave, the sides lined with coal and iron, it looked to go deep into the earth too, likely a spot that Quackity would want to come back to for mining at a later date. It looked that he never did come back, despite it being one of the oldest coordinates in the book, only the temple coming before it.

“He’s not here, come on,” the reluctant man turns away, “let’s see if we can find a horse to use that saddle on, a ride back is faster.”

The other turned after him, ears and tail slightly drooping in disappointment as he followed his friend back where they had come from. 

The man looked back and saw his despondent form, “Come on, we’ll find him, he hasn’t left this world meaning that he’s still here somewhere, we just need to find him.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

They head back in the direction of L’Manburg in the face of the setting sun.

…

Quackity stretches his wings out, them able to fully hold their own weight, he had been doing the stretches consistently for over a week at that point, happy that he had committed the amount of time he had as he tucked the wings securely against his shoulder blades, glad that the wings would no longer be forced to drag along every floor there is.

It would prevent them from getting as cold as they did, and would allow him to move without making a rustling sound over the floorboards. He walked back to the house, with only one ghost companion that day.

Ghostbur had apparently gone to visit Tommy where he was stuck. Apparently, no one had gone to see him yet, leaving him alone in his exile. Quackity would probably visit someday, when his wings could support his weight and he could scare the boy by flying in.

He moved back to the cabin, finding a comfort in the house that he had never thought he would feel again, after he started to feel as though his house was about to be blown up every time he was in it he began to feel less and less safe, trying in every way to avoid going in there.

He had already known that he disliked others houses, not feeling as though he were safe in them, his own house was the last straw for him though. Two weeks after he began to feel unsafe was the day that he left L’Manburg.

He wondered who had been put in his place, not that he particularly cared about the power the political position gave him, he was prouder of the power he had given himself, mining for several days to collect enough netherite for a full kit.

He had spent a whole day after that combing enchantments and hammering them onto his armour and tools. He rarely wore it, saving the armour for when it was needed, preferring to keep the armour safe in his enderchest, away from anyone else that might try and steal it.

…

The two men had searched several locations at that point, going to all but two of the coordinates in the book. The last two were both slightly smudged as if written quickly then shutting the book before the ink could dry.

It had thankfully not made the neat script unreadable, the two coordinates were in opposite directions to each other, both much further out than the other coordinates. They found the general direction of the second to last, before they entered the nether, the second already feeling more at home.

“What was it you said the other day?” His friend just fixes him with a glare, though he can see the slight glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Was it, it’s basically a second home?” he pitches his voice higher, mimicking his friend.

They make their way to the nether roof, heading in the direction of the coordinates.


	5. Chapter 5

Quackity stood on the top of the cabin, nervously wringing his hands together. Phil stood beside him, he was the one that had grabbed him under the arms and dropped him up here. He seemed to think that the wings were strong enough to hold his weight.

He had decided it was time to throw Quackity in the deep end by pushing him off the roof and making him fly that way. Apparently, this was how it was done with all Avians, though they were normally younger than him. He had left taking flight a bit late apparently, seeing as he was meant to first take flight around seven years ago.

He turned to Phil, “What if they can’t hold my weight.”

“They should be able to, but if they’re still too weak I’ll catch you, don’t worry about it.”

Quackity turned back to the edge of the roof, he didn’t know whether he would rather be higher up or not. Ghostbur, Schlatt and Techno were all stood in the snow below, staring up at the two on the roof.

He spread his wings out, letting the wind rush through his feathers, he felt a light shove in the small of his back that sent him toppling off of the roof. He knew that Phil was going to do it, but it still startled him slightly.

He twisted in the air slightly, trying to catch himself with his wings. With one strong beat of them he brought himself up into the air, allowing him to glide above the ground, just above the heads of those below.

He began to adjust his positioning, trying to find a more comfortable way to hold himself, he adjusted his wings slightly, angling them upwards as he caught an air current, it sent him shooting up, with him only giving a few strong flaps of the wings to help himself along.

He flailed as another air current buffeted him, trying to whisk him away, but he quickly righted himself, moving back to his previous position. He swoops back over the heads of his friends as he begins to descend.

He does so slowly, moving in large circles, he watches as Phil jumps off of the roof, spreading his wings slightly to allow himself to glide to the ground safely. He lands softly, whilst Quackity stumbles to a halt a few feet away, almost falling flat on his face before he spreads his wings wider, rebalancing himself.

He turned back to Phil, who was grinning at him, “What did I tell you? I believed in you before you did.”

Quackity laughs, feeling slightly awkward about his own disbelief in himself. “Yeah, I suppose you were right.” He pauses, looking over to Techno as he does so, “Thanks for, uh, for helping me, you know. I don’t think I would have been able to fly if it weren’t for your help.” 

“It’s not problem mate.”

“As heart-warming as this is,” Techno butts in, “it is currently the middle of winter here and I would rather be inside.”

Quackity stops and turns himself to face the man, “Is it too cold?” he mocks, comfortable with the easy friendship he had formed with the man. Techno just huffs in response, turning on his heel and back into the house.

Quackity laughs, running to catch up with his friend as they move back inside, settling down into the familiar routine that they had formed around each other, Quackity curling up beside the fire with a book, Techno doing the same on the sofa. The Ghostbur moves over to whoever he feels like sitting with that day, Schlatt settles down next to Quackity, leaning up against the fireplace’s hearth. Phil moves to the kitchen to make hot drinks for them, tea for Techno, coffee for him and a hot chocolate for Quackity. He will then come back and sit on the sofa, continuing with whatever project he was working on.

Quackity is content with the routine they’ve created, he likes the familiarity of it all, despite the fact that he misses his friends that he left behind.

He’d visit them at some point, he reassures himself, he wasn’t about to abandon them.

…

The men trudge through the nether, back towards L’Manburg. Their last search for Quackity had failed, producing no results. They both walked back slowly, knowing they only had one last place left to look, and if that didn’t reveal Quackity then they would have no luck finding him.

They barely stay in L’Manburg, moving on as soon as they have everything they need. The coordinates seem to be leading them somewhere north, so they set out, wanting to delay their arrival as long as possible by travelling in the overworld.

The exit the walls, which have only been partially destroyed, Dream apparently not seeing a point in completely knocking them down after he had the whole of the cabinet under his thumb. Not that there were many people left, just the child president and Dream’s husband-to-be.

The government had practically fallen apart after Quackity disappeared, them not knowing how to continue after losing two of their most important members on the same day. Quackity had disappeared in the middle of the night, being seen heading back to his house after Tommy’s dramatic exile, after that Quackity had just disappeared.

There had been a small search, but they had given up after exploring a couple hundred blocks in each direction. The first almost scoffed at how quickly they had given up.

Him and his friend had been searching for almost two weeks, going around all the coordinates that were stored in the book. It had been a long list, with around twenty or so different entries. They couldn’t reliably tell how old they were, the list being scattered over the back cover.

They moved to the docks, knowing they would have to cross the ocean to reach their final set of coordinates. They got into the same boat, unsure on how far they would have to row and agreeing to take it in turns whilst crossing the ocean.

They set out across the choppy waves, the structures of L’Manburg getting smaller behind them as they departed.

…

Quackity tried for the fifth time to take flight from the ground, only him and Schlatt were out, the sun barely peeking its way over the horizon. He tried to push off with both feet again, ending up face first in the cold snow yet again.

Schlatt had stopped laughing after the second or third time he fell on his face, probably just feeling more sorry for him. It wasn’t like it was even that hard, he had taken flight several times in the last few days since his first flight.

He pushed himself up, continuing to try and take flight.

“You know, Phil normally pushes with one foot and brings another up in the air.”

Quackity startles, whipping around to see Techno stood there, fully clothed and seemingly awake, despite no one else having been awake when Quackity left the cabin that morning. Either Techno hadn’t slept the previous night, which wasn’t uncommon, or he was a morning person.

“What would you know about flying?” That might have been a bit rude, but Quackity was a bit sick of faceplanting the snow, he was no longer able to feel his nose and his beanie had slipped to the side.

“Not much from personal experience, but I’ve watched Phil fight in the air, he’s pretty epic up there, so I’ve watched him training a bunch, including his taking off. Here.”

He bent down, apparently mimicking the way Phil took off, Quackity watched as he bent his knees, but only brought one up, leaving the other on the ground to push himself with. “He then flaps his wings once, really strongly, and he’s off, up in the air. I can’t do that, obviously, no wings.”

Quackity begins to mimic what Techno had shown him, bringing only one foot up, eh still faceplanted.

“I think you need a bit more strength in the downwards flap, that’s like, the most important part.” He faltered slightly at the look Quackity shot him before continuing, “Think of it like, you have to get your whole body weight into the air, and high enough to stay there.”

“He is making sense.”

“Shut up Schlatt.” He watches as Techno looks around, probably trying to discern where he is. “He’s over here,” he pointed to the space next to him, “right in my ear, as always.”

“It’s kind of weird, you just start talking to someone I can’t see, I guess I can appreciate what it’s like for other now when I talk to chat though.”

Quackity tries to launch himself into the air again, putting more strength into his wings as he attempts to take off. He squints his eyes shut, expecting a face full of snow again, instead all he feels is a slight breeze on his face as his wings instinctually keep him in the air. 

Opening his eyes, he laughs, proud of himself for getting himself into the air, despite needing another person’s guidance. He brings himself up higher watching as Techno cranes his head to follow his movements. He then tucks his wings in, allowing himself to fall back down to earth like a stone. 

Techno stands, impassively watching him plummet downwards, he watches with the same empty look as Quackity flings his wings out, stopping his momentum and allowing him to land without injury. He stood, rather impressed with the control he displayed.

“You proud of yourself?” It sounds more like a sarcastic comment than a genuine question.

“I am!” 

…

The waves are choppy, sending water over the side of the boat and soaking the two men as one of them rows and the other rests. They had been in the boat for longer than expected, spending over a day cramped in the small wooden space. They still had a lot of food left, bringing more than enough with them and storing any they didn’t have on them in their enderchests.

The boat suddenly bumped against something, startling the one taking a nap awake.

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty, we have reached land.” He holds his hand out for the other to grab, pulling him ashore, leaving the boat slightly embedded in the ice they had collided with.

They didn’t drop hands as they made their way through the cold tundra, moving through the snow, causing both of them to shiver slightly, neither used to the cold of the biome. They stuck close to each other and held hands to keep warmer. They hadn’t prepared for it to be so cold, despite knowing they were going north.

They moved through another taiga, which brought one of them some comfort, as it reminded them of their second home, the trees towering above them and casting long shadows in the rising sun. The sun was barely breaching the horizon, reaching its fingers over the land. 

They exited the forest, startling a few foxes as they moved past. Their shoes were soaked through from trudging through several inches of snow. As if to add insult to injury, it began to snow.

They both groaned.

…

They moved inside when it began to snow, reluctant to continue the flying session in what looked to be a large blizzard forming. Quackity stood inside, besides the fire, staring out of the window nearest to him as the snow swirled past, almost black in the darkness of the storm.

He hadn’t thought that a snowstorm could look so dark, the small white flakes swirling past the window, some sticking and sliding down, melting from the heat that came from the fire inside. Others were flung straight past by the vicious wind, moving back into the swirling mass.

He could see some mobs appearing in the darkness, able to spawn in due to how dark the area was, snow coating everything.

Quackity was glad to not be out in that weather, knowing that he would get hypothermia within minutes despite the warm winter clothing he wore. He gratefully accepted the hot chocolate from Phil as he passed it to him, moving away from the window and down to his normal spot.

He settled in for a few days stuck inside, Phil had told him how severe the storms could be this far north.

…

They stumbled through the snow, no longer following the coordinates on their comms, barely able to see a few feet in front of their faces due to the snow swirling in masses.

They hadn’t thought it would be this bad, continuing on as the snow began to fall faster, confident they would reach the location before it got any worse. They’d been wrong.

They stumbled, almost blind, through the snow. They had both stopped feeling cold a while ago, which they knew was a bad sign. One of them almost fell, before the other heaved them up, stumbling on.

They begin to see a small amount of light, shining through the layers of snow swirling around them. They tug on their friend’s shirt, guiding them towards the light.

They began to make their slow way towards it.

…

Quackity froze as he heard a thud at the door, all three living occupants of the room turned towards the sound. Schlatt had gone off somewhere else and Ghostbur had gone off, back to wherever he normally stayed. He was unaffected by the weather, giving him free passage. 

Phil got up from where he was sat, wings beginning to ruffle up in a threatening tactic, trying to make himself look bigger than he was.

He stopped in front of the door, before pulling it open slightly, trying to prevent too much snow from entering the cabin. 

This is ruined by whatever is on the other side as they force their way into the room, falling onto the floor with a dull thud. Phil shuts the door slowly, staring down at the two masses of fabric at his feet where they had fallen.

Quackity stands up, trying to get a better look at who is now stuck in the cabin in them for a while. He takes in the colourful hoodie, mismatched sleeves and then the black hair and white bandanna of his companion.

“Karl?” he mutters, confused, “Sapnap?”


	6. Chapter 6

Quackity stood, frozen, halfway between where he had been sat and the door. He watched the limp forms of his two best friends, piled on top of each other. They looked to have passed out, either when the thud had sounded at the door or when Phil had opened the door.

They all just kind of stood and stared at the two men currently passed out on the floor.

“You know they’re probably dying of hypothermia right now.” He jumps, not expecting Schlatt’s voice to be so close to his ear. The man is leaning over his shoulder, feet off the floor to do so, he was the only person that Quackity knew that was shorter than him.

He moves over to where Phil is stood, seemingly in shock, just staring at the two people at his feet. As Quackity gets up close, he can see the way that their clothes as soaked through, either from water or melted snow, he can’t be sure.

He shakes Phil shoulder lightly, which seems to effectively snap him out of whatever he was thinking as he turns on his heel, disappearing into the kitchen, tucking his wings more securely on against his back.

He hears Techno stand up behind him, and hears him move up behind him. He comes into view, bending down over Karl, seemingly inspecting the man, his gaze flicks over to Sapnap.

“We should probably move them somewhere other than the floor.” He states. He turns to Sapnap, beginning to pull to man up off the floor, picking him up once he is able to.

“Grab Karl, would you?”

He nods, picking up Karl, only slightly staggering under the taller man’s weight. He more so slings Karl’s arm over his shoulder and pulls him along that way. He follows after Techno, who has moved into the hallway, and is moving down it, towards the end, where Quackity’s room is.

He realises they’re heading towards his room as Techno enters it. He walks in to see the man setting Sapnap down on his rug, which is better than the floor, but still not as good as a bed.

“Set Karl down next to him, I’m going to go see if any of the villagers have any warm clothes for them, theirs are wet, and not that warm.”

He watches, stood just inside the doorway as Techno brushes past him and down the hall, presumably to go get the clothes he had mentioned.

He turns back, shutting the door with his foot and walking over to the rug, he sets Karl down next to Sapnap, before sitting down beside them, wings tucked firmly behind his back. He feels Karl then Sapnap’s foreheads, flinching at how cold they both are. 

He’s more concerned at how cold Sapnap is though, knowing from his reading up on blaze hybrids that they aren’t meant to drop under ten degrees Celsius, and normally run hotter than a full human due to the blaze rods they inherit from their blaze side.

He’s not as concerned about Karl, the dog hybrid as cold as a cold person generally gets. He looks up as Techno re-enters the room, unceremoniously dumping the clothes he had bought on Quackity’s bed, which resembled more of a nest with all the blankets and pillows it contained.

He watched as Techno left without another word, before turning back to his friends. He realises with a start that they won’t be able to change themselves, instead he would have to be the one to get rid of the wet clothes.

He doesn’t think the cold clothes are doing them any favours, so he quickly strips them off, dumping them down, intent on getting them changed quickly. He closed his eyes throughout most of it, not wanting to invade his friends’ privacy and instead going off of muscle memory on how to dress.

Once he’s finished re-clothing his friends, he just stands over them, kind of staring down at where they’ve curled up on the floor. That’s the moment when Phil chooses to enter the room, which causes Quackity to relax, knowing that the older man will be better at dealing with this than he is.

He remains in the room as Phil moves around, lifting first Sapnap, then Karl, into Quackity’s nest. He feels slightly offended that he didn’t even ask beforehand, he wouldn’t have refused but it’s courtesy to ask.

Phil goes around tucking small leather pouches into the fabric of his bed.

“What are those?”

Phil startles slightly, almost as if he had forgotten that he was there, he turned to him, confused. “What are what?”

“The small leather pouches, what are they?”

Phil looks down to the one he’s holding, “Oh, these are hot water bottles, I use them to keep myself warm if I ever get too cold and can’t be by a fire. They’re filled with hot water.” He hands one to Quackity, letting him hold it in his hands.

It actually was hot; it was quite nice if he was being honest. He handed it back to Phil, who finished tucking the last of them into the duvets. 

“Do you want me to bring you a book?”

“Huh?” He’s genuinely confused, he can go get his books himself.

“If you wanted to go to bed, it’s rather late, and they probably should have some natural body heat in there to help warm them up as well.”

He doesn’t know how to respond, “Uh, there should be a book left on the cushions I was sat on, that’s the one I was reading. Could you grab that one for me?”

Phil nods, turning and leaving the room, wings still tucked against his back. Turning to the nest and peering in, he notices how Phil left a gap in the middle form him, presumably so that he could lie down next to both of them.

He steps carefully over them, Phil coming and handing him his book as he settles down. He’s reading Watership Down. He had laughed at the fact that all of the characters were rabbits at first, but he had gotten himself invested in the rabbit’s journey as he continued to read it.

He settled himself down, returning to where he had been before the two had arrived. He immersed himself into the plot of the story, reading how the rabbits came upon another burrow, and how it was unusual. He read two chapters before he put the book down. He looked over to the clock, only just realising how late it was when he saw the hands ticking towards one in the morning.

He looked to the two beside him, only just realising that they had moved in closer, sandwiching him between the two of them. He slides down from his sitting position into where he’s lying down on his back, he tucks his wings around the two beside him, already warm enough himself.

He settles down to sleep, ignoring the way the other two move in closer, almost squishing him. He drifts off.

…

He opens his eyes to someone poking his cheek, rather roughly. He barely registers where he is, just glad to have gotten a full night of sleep. They were rare, the more frequent occurrences being him waking up halfway through the night from a nightmare. He never really slept well when he was on his own, it made him feel isolated and as if he were unable to be saved.

He slowly registered that there were two people in the bed beside him, leading him to remember what had happened the previous night, he can still hear the blizzard raging outside, meaning it’s another day inside. Only one of the people in bed was awake besides him.

He turns his head towards the poking finger, swatting it away with a hand as it continues to bother him. His head turns to face Karl, who still seems to be fully tucked underneath his right wing. The man is staring him straight in the face, joy colouring his features. As Quackity turns towards him his ears come forwards, flopping over his face in the way only dog’s ears can do.

They’re almost hidden among the brown mess of Karl’s hair, he smiles at Karl, still unsure why the two showed up at the cabin. It’s not like it’s close to anywhere else, one of the reasons he chose to come here was because of how far out of the way it was. He thought that no one else would come here and find him.

“How did you find me here?” He slurs, still not fully awake, he tries to pull his wing away from where it’s over Karl, but the man grabs on, keeping the wing where it is.

“We followed the coordinates you had written in your coordinate book.” He seems really proud of himself, but Quackity can’t figure out what that means for the life of him.

“What?”

Karl pulls a book out of his inventory, flicking to the back inside cover, he holds it up close to Quackity’s face, showing him all of the coordinates he had hurriedly written in the back of the book, places he always meant to go but never got around to. Well, every place except for the last set, those were the ones for Techno’s cabin.

He had stumbled across it one day, writing them down in case they were needed later. He’s glad he did, otherwise he wouldn’t have had anywhere to go when he left L’Manburg.

“How did you know which one to follow?” He’s still not fully awake, sleep clouding his mind and making it hard to think.

“Wow,” Karl jokes, “you really are not a morning person, huh?” he laughs, rather loudly, showing off his teeth, the sharp canines that most hybrids had. He claps a hand over his mouth, shushing him and pointing towards where Sapnap was still sleeping, hair barely poking out from where he was buried beneath Quackity’s wings.

“Sorry,” Karl whispers, “we didn’t actually know which one to follow, so we went to all of them, looted a few mineshafts, temples and mob spawners actually.”

Quackity just stared at him, wondering why they had gone to all of the effort to find him when they had to follow at least twenty different sets of coordinates.

“Why?” He whispers, reluctant to wake Sapnap.

“Because we care about you, obviously.” Quackity feels touched that someone cares that much about him to go traipsing over the whole world looking for him.

“Not that I dislike the warmth you are giving me with the wings, but like, where the honk did these come from. I know for a fact that every hybrid gets their traits between the age of twelve and fifteen, and you, are a lot older than that.”

Quackity did not want to talk about that, his friends would know fully how bad what he had done to his wings was. He shifted a bit, trying to get more comfortable on his stomach.

“You have to promise not to be mad.” He eventually muttered, averting his gaze then flicking back to Karl’s eyes, his brow was creased, obviously worried about what he was about to say.

“Okay.” He draws out the ‘o’ in the word.

“I, uh, I sort of, maybe, bound them every day, for multiple days at a time.” He rushed out, not wanting Karl to think too hard about what he was saying.

“Your wings are massive, at least sixteen foot across, there’s no way you would be able to hide these.”

“I bound them really tightly, I have a few scars on my chest from where they rubbed, and I continued to wear the bandages I used.”

Karl’s ears were lowered now, they had been forward earlier, excited to see his friend, he didn’t want to have upset his friend.

“I don’t do it anymore though, I promise, Phil made me stop.” He wanted to reassure his friend that he was fine, he gestured to his wings, “they’re all better now.”

“What do you mean now.” Karl was way too clever for his own good.

“I mean that they’re better now than they were.”

“How long ago was ‘were’.” He paused, trying to count the days since he had arrived at the cabin, it was the day after that so, “Probably about fifteen days.”

Karl frowned, opening his mouth to speak.

“I don’t particularly want to interrupt this heart-warming moment, but Phil wants you for breakfast now, all of you.” Schlatt was hovering over the bed, staring down at the two of them.

Quackity didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed the ghost enter.

“Piss off Schlatt.”

“Schlatt?”

He freezes, turning back to Karl.

“Yeah, funny story. I ate Schlatt’s heart and now I see his ghost, only me.” He got up out of bed, almost throwing himself over Karl. He moves over to his wardrobe, pulling off his nightshirt he pulls his normal turtleneck on before he pulled the trousers out and slipped them on quickly. He fastened the various belts and sashes before pulling his coat and boots on. He dressed quickly, used to the routine it brought after days of getting dressed in the outfit

He turned back to his nest, looking at Karl as he peeked over the edge, the man is just staring at him, ears pulled forward in interest.

“See something you like?” He teased.

Karl blushed, looking away, “It’s just an outfit that suits you rather well.” He justified.

“Mhm.” He moves to wake Sapnap up, gently tugging on the man’s arm to pull him out of the nest, onto the floor, Karl climbs out himself.

He looks down at the clothes he’s wearing.

“These aren’t my clothes.”

“I know.”

He turns towards the door, before almost getting knocked over as a rather warm blaze hybrid knocks into his back in a hug.

“Good morning Sapnap.” He wheezes out, Sapnap’s hug restricting his airflow slightly.

“We were so worried about you.” The man’s voice sounds broken, causing Quackity to feel guilty about leaving without telling them.

He turns around in the hold, returning Sapnap’s hug. As soon as he drops his arms Quackity pulls away, moving out of the room, tucking his wings neatly behind him, resolving to preen them later. The two follow close behind him as he moves to the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

He entered the kitchen with Karl and Sapnap close behind him, the two seem slightly more tired than they had been earlier, they were still recovering from hypothermia after all. He sits down at the small table that is in the kitchen, leaning his arms on the surface and watching Phil as he potters around the kitchen, messing around with a few things on the stove.

He sends a greeting to Techno, who is sat across from him at the table, the other is reading a book, but sends him a friendly smile anyway. Sapnap and Karl just stand in the doorway, unsure on how to act around the two. Quackity could understand that, the two had committed a lot of crimes, and here they were in a kitchen, waiting for breakfast together.

Karl sat down next to him, on his right side, whilst Sapnap settled down on his left. They all sat on one side of the table, Techno reading his book on the other side. Phil bustled around, clanging a few pans together, his wings moving out of the way as he reaches for things. He grabs five plates and puts an egg, fried potatoes and tomatoes on the plates.

He hands each of the people at the table a plate, removing the book from Techno’s hands as he moves past, sitting himself down beside the piglin hybrid.

“Good morning,” he smiles at the three opposite him, “I hope you slept well.” He grins, shooting Quackity a sly look out of the corner of his eye. Quackity knows the direction he is being nudged in but refuses to walk down that path just yet.

“Do you have any plans for today?”

Quackity looks over at the two either side, “Well, we can’t really go outside right now. You know, blizzard and all.” He gestures vaguely to where he knows a window is. Phil nods thoughtfully, all of them eating their food in silence for a bit. Techno stands up, apparently finished with his meal, he moves past Phil, plate in hand, he snatches the book from where Phil had placed it.

He put his plate on the side and moved from the kitchen, he hears him crouch down in front of the fire, striking matches and piling wood, he’s lighting the fire again. They extinguish it every night and relight it in the morning. It’s the only reliable way for them to consistently keep warm.

Quackity finishes his food and sits back, watching as his friends eat. They seem reluctant to talk in front of Phil, almost as if they’re scared of him, they probably are, he realises. Most of their world had only seen Phil the once; when he had killed Wilbur on the day of Manburg’s Fall.

The other two slowly finish eating, sitting there as if they don’t know what to do with themselves. Quackity stands suddenly, collecting all of their plates as he moves towards the sink, he dumps them in the sink with a small clatter and walks out of the room, back down the hallway to his.

The other two follow behind him, as he expected them to. He enters his room, waits for them to walk in as well, then closes the door behind them. He sits back in his nest, wanting to feel comfortable when he does his wings. He would normally do it in the longue, where he could ask Phil for help with the feathers towards his back, the ones he found it harder to reach.

He hadn’t sat in the longue as he normally did as he saw how the other two were uneasy, preferring to keep them comfortable in what they seemed to deem as safety, his room, rather than stick to what he normally does and make them uncomfortable.

Schlatt hasn’t followed him into his room, he notices, as he brings his wing round to the front, underside facing him. He begins to sort every feather, methodical in the process, cleaning and straightening every feather as he goes along. He feels the bed dip as Karl sits down on the edge, seemingly unsure on whether he is still welcome. Quackity pats the section of bed next to him, inviting Karl to sit. Sapnap takes that as an invite too, sitting himself down on Quackity’s other side. Karl leans up against his side, watching with a curious fascination as he preens his wings. 

He rests his head on his shoulder, watching as Quackity finishes with the underside, he is unable to do any of the back of his wing properly, so he tucks that one back, resolving to ask Phil for help later.

He nudges Karl slightly out of the way to allow him to bring the wing around the front. His wing brushes right in front of the dog hybrid’s face, probably tickling him on the nose, he begins to move through the feathers on this side of the wing, cleaning and straightening each one as he had done with his other wing.

He stiffens as he begins to feel someone run their fingers through the feathers on the outside, the hands stop their movement as they feel Quackity stiffen, before continuing, Karl does a good job at straightening the feathers and cleaning them, despite having most likely only ever seen Quackity do it, for the five minutes before he attempted.

Quackity relaxed back against the pillows, allowing Karl to sort the outside of his right wing, once he finishes he tucks it back, allowing Karl to flop back against his side before wrapping his wing around him again.

Sapnap doesn’t seem to want to be left out, moving up next to Quackity and lying against his side, Quackity brings his wing around the blaze hybrid as well, relishing in the heat the man puts off, soaking it all up.

He feels himself begin to drift off, warm and his wings tended to. Karl has already fallen asleep, if the soft snores in his ear are anything to go by, Sapnap also doesn’t look far off, so Quackity lets himself relax and fall asleep. 

He tucks his wings tighter around the three of them.

…

He wakes to a smothered laugh, blinking his eyes open blearily he glares at Phil, who is stood in the doorway, trying, and failing, to smother his laughs. He doesn’t think the glare is very effective as it just causes Phil to laugh harder.

The man eventually sobers, walking fully into the room instead of lingering by the door.

“I just wanted to come ask you what kind of soup you want for lunch, any allergies or preferences?” He tips his head towards the two beside Quackity, already familiar with his own preferences.

“Um. Sapnap likes spicy things, and Karl likes root vegetables, that’s about all I know though.” He whispers, reluctant to wake the other two.

“Okay, we have potatoes, I don’t think we’ll be able to make anything spicy with that, so, root vegetables it is.”

He turns and walks out of the room, stopping in the doorway and turning back to Quackity, “I would like to talk to you after the other two have woken up, alone.” That makes Quackity feel slightly nervous, but he knows that Phil wouldn’t do anything to harm him or his friends.

He just nods in response, focusing on waking up the other two nicely. He rubs his hand up and down Karl’s shoulder, causing the man to curl in on himself further before stretching himself out fully, waking up and yawning. He blinks, almost as if he is trying to wake himself up. He repeats the action with Sapnap, he only gets a grunt in response with him though, so he jostles his shoulder a bit more roughly, wanting to retrieve his wing from where it was trapped underneath him.

“Come on, we’ve apparently slept all morning, there’s lunch cooking, potato soup.” He stands from the bed, stretching his wings out as the other two get up. He smooths down any ruffled feathers, moving them back into position.

Once the other two are ready he moves back into the longue, collecting his own bowl and directing for Karl and Sapnap to do the same. He moves back into the longue, sending Techno a smile as he moves to his spot by the fire. He settles down on the cushions, tucking himself a bit smaller to allow the other two to fit as well. 

They sit and eat their soup in silence, shoulders pressed up against each other. He’s the last to finish his, looking up, he sees Phil stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching him. Releasing it’s time for their talk, he collects all three bowls, instructing the two to stay where they are as he moves into the kitchen.

He places the bowls down as Phil closes the door. He turns to face the man.

“Okay Quackity, me and Techno were talking after you left breakfast this morning.” Quackity gulped, that couldn’t be good. “It’s nothing bad, we just saw how you were around those two. Be honest with me here Quackity, is there anything going on between the three of you?”

“No.”

“You do realise the way you look at them, right?” Quackity’s cheeks begin to burn, he hadn’t thought it had been that obvious, “You know they look at you the same way,” he muses, “it’s why I wondered if there was anything going on between you.”

“Oh.” He doesn’t know what to do with the information, moving stiffly around Phil and out of the kitchen. He moves towards the door to the hallway, looking over his shoulder, and seeing that Karl and Sapnap are following, he continues down the hallway to his room.

He’s rummaging through his enderchest as they enter, pulling out half a stack of emerald blocks that he had been slowly collecting. He turns back to the two who are still wearing their nightwear.

“How would you feel about some proper winter wear?”

They both nod enthusiastically, so Quackity leads them out, down to the basement, then into the villager area. He’s become used to seeing them all in their small areas, so he just moves to where he knows the weaver is. 

“Holy honk,” he hears Karl mutter behind him, glancing back to see him walking along slowly, looking into the small areas that each villager has. Sapnap stays silent, just looking over each villager and the sign that indicates what kind they are.

He nods and follows after Quackity, leaving Karl to catch up. Quackity begins to barter with the weaver, pointing at the two of them then gesturing to the clothes he is wearing. The villager eyes the two behind him up and down, before muttering something he can’t understand and beginning to rummage through their wares. They pull out one bundle of fabric, pointing to Sapnap, before continuing his search. He eventually pulls out another paper package and points to Karl. He then holds his hand out, ready for his payment. Quackity hands over the stack of emeralds being demanded.

He moves around the two of them, towards the leatherworker. He points at his own boots then the two behind him, repeating the process to get them some good shoes for the snow, rather than the trainers they had worn and gotten soaked on the journey there. The leatherworker is quicker than the weaver, handing the boots over quickly before demanding his payment. Quackity obliges, handing over the forty-eight emeralds easily.

He moves back over to the ladder, climbing back up and emerging into the main floor. He moves back to the room, moving inside and shutting the door behind them and handing each their respective shoes and clothing packages.

They both unwrap the paper, looking in confusion at the fabric inside. Quackity sighs, already expecting that to happen. He pulls the shirt out of each, Karl’s being a simple long sleeve and Sapnap’s being a black turtleneck, an almost exact copy of his usual one. They have similar style trousers that he has. They pull on the two items, before turning back to the fabric.

Karl only has his coat left, so Quackity quickly excuses himself and goes to grab Karl’s hoodie, which had been washed and dried, coming back and handing it to him, allowing him to put it on before handing him the coat. It has a different cut to Quackity’s coming to a round edge rather than a diamond, there’s also no added sheep’s wool around the neck like Quackity’s has.

As Karl had put the coat on, a pair of gloves, the same style as Quackity’s, and a hat, fell out of the folds. He puts those on too. He turns back to Sapnap and helps the man with the strip of fabric around his middle that Quackity also wears. The coat is almost the exact same as Quackity’s, just in a bigger size and slightly darker blue colour.

Once he’s finished helping the two, Karl hugs him, thanking him for the warmer clothes, his tail, now visible, is wagging. Sapnap just laughs and hugs him as well, thanking him quietly.

Okay, he can see the way they look at him now, it just makes him wonder if they see the way they look at each other, all three of them.


	8. Chapter 8

Karl admires the way his new clothes fit him, he likes the way with cloak compliments the differing colours of his hoodie, it’s a similar purple to the min panel, making them seem like they were made to fit together.

He pulls at the sleeves, moving his fingers around to feel the flexibility of his new gloves. The end of his sleeves are accented with a teal, the fingerless gloves black, the same colour as Quackity’s and Sapnap’s. he looks over to Quackity, who seems to be lost in thought, staring at the two of them as they admire their new clothes.

He looks over to Sapnap, noticing that he still has a black turtleneck underneath his coat, which has sheep’s wool around the neck, he pulls at his own coat’s collar, it just being a simple double-breasted cut rather than the fancy wool that Sapnap and Quackity have.

The clothes are easy to move in, which he’s glad for, he doesn’t want to be unable to move, fight or run whilst wearing these, as they wouldn’t be very practical otherwise. When he bends his knees the base of his coat brushes against the floor, he hopes that it won’t drag along the ground too loudly if he needs to sneak around.

He looks back to Quackity, once again admiring the man and his wings, they suited him he felt, the golden sheen of them fitting with his general style, complimenting the blues of his clothes. He thinks that Quackity got the nicest set of clothes out of the three of them, the deep blues and twisted fabrics making him look like royalty. He would just need a crown and then he would be set.

It seemed that he insisted on keeping the beanie on, covering his hair and ears, despite it not fitting very well with the rest of his outfit. He sidles up next to him, a few inches taller than him, he can feel his tail begin to wag in anticipation of what he’s about to do.

Quackity looks up to him, “Hello?”

“Hi,” he replies, “I couldn’t help but notice, that you’re still wearing your beanie, despite it not fitting with your outfit.”

“Uh, yeah?” he still sounds confused, glancing over to Sapnap, as if to ask if he understood. As he looks away, Karl begins to reach towards the beanie, bringing his hand up slowly as to not startle him. Sapnap’s eyes widen slightly, before a grin spreads over his mouth, this causes Quackity to whip his head back towards where Karl was.

Before Quackity can duck out of the way Karl snatches the beanie off of his head, bringing it closer to his chest and holding it close in a tight grip as Quackity tries to get it out of his hands. He refuses to let go, holding on tighter as Quackity demands for it to be given back. He begins to laugh, Sapnap joining in.

What Karl did not expect was for Quackity to shove his whole weight into him, successfully knocking him to the floor. Quackity puts his knees either side of Karl’s chest, wings slightly spread out either side. He feels himself get pinned to the floor, he doesn’t concentrate on Quackity yanking the beanie out of his now loose grip. He’s more focused on the small feathers behind his ears, they’re small, golden feathers, similar to the ones on his wings but smaller and a lighter colour.

In some sort of trance, with Quackity straddling him, he reaches up and touches the feathers behind his ears, causing Quackity to freeze, not expecting the contact. Karl suddenly realises the compromising position he’s ended up in, he can’t hear Sapnap’s laughter anymore either, his face burns a deep scarlet, more than a bit embarrassed.

He withdraws his hand, watching as Quackity’s expression quickly turns from shock to sharp annoyance, his head whipping towards the door.

“Piss off Schlatt, you’re not funny.” He huffs, obviously irritated by whatever he had said. Karl still doesn’t completely understand that, he can’t see the ghost, meaning that Quackity could be talking himself, but he’s also too sane for that and Ghostbur can apparently see him too. He doesn’t understand why Quackity felt the need to eat his heart anyway, he knows that they had been in cabinet together, but from what he had heard they hadn’t really liked each other towards the end.

Quackity turns back to him, apparently done with the conversation, he pulls his beanie back onto his head rather roughly and stands up, he offers Karl a hand to help him up, which Karl gratefully takes. He staggers to his feet, tail still wagging slightly.

“There, I wear a beanie because there are stupid fucking feathers behind my ears.” Quackity seems resentful of the feathers, crossing his arms and turning away slightly. His beanie sits, firmly on his head in the same way it always is, covering his ears and hair.

Karl feels slightly guilty for pulling the beanie off, not wanting to make his friend uncomfortable, he shoots Sapnap a look, who just gestures back towards him, telling him to sort it out. He looks back to Quackity, who just seems sad, but Karl can’t gather why, instead of trying to figure that out he just steps forward and gives Quackity a hug, mindful of his wings, manoeuvring around where they joined his back and squeezing him tightly.

He felt Quackity freeze up, as if not used to contact, before he allows himself to relax again, wings sagging down to the ground slightly.

“You know we don’t mind any of the hybrid traits right, me and Sapnap are hybrids as well. You don’t need to hide yourself around us.” He feels Quackity draw in a breath, his form shuddering and his wings shaking, beginning to curl in on themselves slowly.

He shoots another look to Sapnap, who looks as worried as he feels. He hadn’t expected his small prank, if you could even call it that, to have that much of an effect on him. He just brings him closer, shifting his weight to pick him up. Quackity is the shortest of the three of them, making it easy to shift his weight until he’s holding him close.

He steps towards the bed, which Sapnap seems to take as his cue, as he hops into the dent in the duvets and pillows, settling against one of the edges carefully. Karl almost laughs at how similar the mass of duvets and pillows looks to a nest, before he realises that the bed belongs to an Avian and that it is probably meant to mimic the appearance of a nest.

He climbs over the edge, still holding Quackity against him, careful to not knock any pillows over. He sist down besides Sapnap, releasing the tight hold that held Quackity secure, he relaxes his arms, them more so just there for comfort rather than stability. He looks over to the window, seeing the snow still flying past, but it was moving slower and in smaller masses, it would appear the storm was coming to an end.

He didn’t plan on going out in it for a while yet, he was content to stay here with Quackity, he had nothing that needed doing in L’Manburg, and neither did Sapnap. He felt Sapnap moves closer to him, resting his head on his shoulder as Karl slid down, moving to a more comfortable position. He lets Quackity lay on his chest, comforted by the weight the man brings, almost like a weighted blanket.

He watches with tired eyes as Quackity spreads a wing over Sapnap, seemingly subconsciously, and tucks the other around the both of them. It’s warm, which makes Karl more sleepy, he feels himself begin to drift off, the heat of Sapnap by his side and the warm weight of Quackity on his chest.

His eyes slip closed, arms still wrapped around Quackity as he drifts off.

…

Techno pushes the door open, suspicious as to what the three were doing that created such a silence, they had asked Ghostbur to go check on them earlier, who sent Schlatt to go check on them. Schlatt had come back and told Ghostbur, who told them, that he had walked in on Quackity seemingly winning a fight against Karl, having him pinned to the floor and retrieving his beanie from the other.

Techno had left it a while before checking on them, not wanting to walk in anything like Schlatt had. Despite Quackity saying otherwise, Techno wasn’t completely certain that there was nothing going on between the three. They might not be doing anything, but that doesn’t mean he misses the fond looks they send each other, even he noticed it and he spent maybe half an hour around all three of them.

He looks inside the room. Not seeing them instantly, he moves further inside, going to look inside the nest that Quackity had created with all their spare blankets. He honestly doesn’t know how he got the sides so high with just blankets and pillows, anyone inside the bed was out of view from the doorway.

He peers over the edge, not wanting to get too close in case he disturbs anything. As he sees them, he feels himself soften slightly, taking in the way that they’re all cuddled up together. Quackity lays on Karl’s chest, who has an arm around his waist, both his wings are tucked around the three, Sapnap pressing his face into Karl’s neck.

He hears the voices chanting in his head, the most prominent phrases being ‘soft’ ‘softie’ and ‘awws’. He sighs, knowing he won’t be able to convince chat that he hasn’t gone soft. He turns back towards the door, cape swishing behind him as he walks out, closing the door behind him.

Nothing going on between them, he scoffs to himself, yeah right.

…

Quackity wakes slowly, feeling warm and safe. He blinks his eyes open, staring into the material of Karl’s hoodie. He stares at it in confusion, not knowing why it’s in front of his face when he’s lying on his front. As he focuses more, trying to figure out where he is, he realises the hoodie is breathing and moving, because Karl is still wearing it and he’s lying on top of Karl, and he was asleep.

He tenses up, not wanting to give away that he’s awake he slowly turns his head to the side. He comes face to face with Sapnap, who’s asleep, his face buried in Karl’s neck, right next to Quackity’s face. He’s asleep, and he’s sleeping peacefully, he’s also sleeping under Quackity’s wing, but he doesn’t dare to move it, not wanting to wake him up.

“Are you awake?” he freezes as he hears Karl’s voice right by his ear, propping his chin on Karl’s chest he turns to face him, coming incredibly close to the man as he looks around. 

“Yes.” He whispers back, watching Karl’s face. The hybrid’s ears are slightly forward, most likely listening to him, he feels Karl’s arm wriggle a little, before it comes to a rest on his wing, slowly moving his fingers through the feathers.

The gentle treatment makes Quackity relax again, letting all the tension bleed out of his body. He watches Karl’s face as he looks over his wings, watching the way his eyes move from feather to feather as he strokes them.

Karl’s eyes dart back to his, making eye contact.

“Can I ask you a question?” he whispers, sounding unsure. Quackity represses the urge to respond with a quip of ‘you just did’ feeling as though this was more serious than that.

“Yes?” he hates the way he sounds unsure in his own decision, but he want s to know Karl’s question.

“Why did you hide your wings, and the other traits.” He sounds sad, as if he’s been trying to figure it out on his own, and not coming to any goof conclusions.

“Do you actually want to know?” he doesn’t want to upset him further; it seems he’s already been doing a pretty good job of it himself.

“Yes.” Quackity takes a deep breath.

“Everyone in my family was an Avian, including me. We didn’t live on a very nice world at the time, most of the people being discriminatory towards my race. We hid our wings, or, we tried to at least. We got found,” he admitted, sighing heavily and looking away, “I was the only one that got out of my house alive.”

He looks back, regretting it as he sees the kicked puppy look on his face. He hugs Quackity closer, which is quite the achievement as he is literally lying on top of him.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, it wasn’t you that set the house aflame.”

“Can I see them.” Quackity furrows his eyebrows, confused, Karl sees this as he clarifies, “your like, the feathers behind your ears. They look different to the ones on your wings.”

“Oh.” He tips his head forward, inviting Karl to take the beanie, he does so slowly, almost as if he’s wary of upsetting him again. Which he probably is, he realises, Karl is a bit of a bleeding heart, but in a nice way.

He feels the beanie get pulled off his head completely, exposing the feathers underneath. He feels Karl’s gentle fingers brush over them, making him shiver slightly at the light contact, it’s slightly ticklish.

Sapnap begins to stir next to him, pulling his face away from Karl’s neck, blinking his eyes, then laying his cheek on Karl’s shoulder. He watches the two of them, looking between him and Karl. He begins to try to move his arm, before realising he’s buried beneath Quackity’s wing.

He blinks at it for a second, before pushing himself up slightly, so the wing is covering his legs rather than torso. He leans back, beginning to run his fingers through his feathers. It’s nice, he thinks, the attention on him.

He begins to sit up, pulling his wings back against himself as he stretches, sitting up, then rolling off of Karl, onto the patch of empty space next to him. He hears Sapnap light-heartedly whine about losing his blanket, which causes him to snicker.

He jumps as the door bursts open, Techno walking in confidently, Phil following behind him. He blinks at them, sleep still making his brain run slower.

“Huh?” Is all he manages, just staring at the two. He’s sure he looks a mess, his clothes rumpled, he can feel a patch of hair sticking up on his head, and his wings are in a slight disarray.

“How would you feel about a small adventure to L’Manburg?”

“Aren’t you, like banished from there?”

“Yep.” Techno seems way to chipper about that, despite having just suggested they should go there. “I didn’t mean go there in a friendly visit sort of way, I meant we should go there and mess a few things up, you know?”

Quackity is completely into doing that, he looks back to the two behind him, who seem impassive towards the conversation going on around them.

“Can they come too?” Techno flicks his gaze over to them, he shrugs, nodding his head, “As long as they’re okay with minor acts of chaos.”

He looks back to the two, Sapnap seems to have lit up at the word ‘chaos’, looking towards Karl, nudging him as if he’s trying to make him agree. He doesn’t take much persuasion, agreeing with a nod after a minute of debate.

“Alright,” Phil speaks up, “we leave in half an hour, grab your weapons and armour, we’re gonna go fuck shit up.”

Quackity practically leaps from his nest, landing softly with assistance from his wings, hurrying over to his enderchest and pulling his armour out. He quickly begins to fasten the straps, tightening them to fit. He pulls the specially modified chestplate out, pulling that on too.

He tucks the weapons away in his inventory, turning back to see Sapnap and Karl half-way through suiting up themselves.

He grins, this should be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing this made me realise how single i am lol


	9. Chapter 9

Quackity trudges through the snow, glad for his winter gear, the armour helps too, it insulates the major parts of his body that are also most likely to be stabbed. Karl and Sapnap walk on either side of him, whilst Techno and Phil walk a bit further ahead of them, obviously eager to get to L’Manburg.

“Are you sure we can do this?” he jumps slightly at the sudden closeness of Karl, not hearing him walk closer. 

“What do you mean?”

“The whole, invading L’Manburg, causing chaos, what if we get caught? You’ll be forced back into the cabinet.”

Quackity hadn’t thought of the consequences of if it went wrong, he hadn’t stopped to think about that. He glanced down, then back up.

“Karl,” the other turned to look at him, “they don’t know I have wings.” He saw the moment the realisation crossed Karl’s face, it obviously having slipped his mind as well.

“Oh, that’s not good, not if you don’t want others to know.” Karl glanced back at his wings, “It’s not like you can hide them, not that you should, you should be proud of them.”

“You know,” Sapnap chimed in, “you could just swoop in all badass and shit, scare the living daylights out of everyone there. They’ll never see it coming.” Quackity laughed at how funny that would be, he could imagine the shocked faces of Tubbo and Tommy.

Well, not Tommy, he realises sadly, Tommy’s still in exile thousands of miles away from the country he gave everything up for. But still, he would like to scare the shit out of Tubbo, it would make him feel better about everything.

The snow crunched underfoot as they walked through the taiga, Karl talking about how it’s his ‘home away from home’, Sapnap seems to have heard this before because he just ignores all the small facts that Karl spouts about the forest. He finds it interesting, the small details that you only learn after living in the place for a long time.

As they come up to the edge of the ocean Techno pulls out some obsidian, beginning to construct a nether portal, he apparently doesn’t feel like going through the day long trip over the water, which is understandable.

He finishes constructing the frame, pulling out a flint and steel, he strikes them together, creating a scarping sound and a small flame that jumps onto the obsidian. It catches and spreads through the portal, magic spreading over the frame with a warping sound as it is contained and concentrated within the centre. 

Techno steps through, Phil a few paces behind him. Quackity steps through the portal as well, Sapnap and Karl not far behind. He feels the twisting sensation deep in his gut as he’s transported into the nether.

Phil and Techno are waiting for them on the other side, facing towards a small, rather rickety, bridge that has been clumsily built. He can see the L’Manburg nether hub off in the distance, the bridge connecting to a larger one that leads towards it.

Karl stumbles out of the portal, almost falling over, but is saved by Sapnap grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him upright. “Thanks.” He breathes.

Quackity turns towards Phil, who has begun to make his way over the bridge, wings slightly spread to allow for better balance, Techno follows behind him, walking at a normal pace, arms by his sides, one hand clutching his famous ‘Axe of Peace’, Quackity finds the name ironic.

Quackity begins to walk over the bridge, nervous about the lava below him despite knowing that he can catch himself if necessary, he’s more worried about his friends behind him. He glances back to check on them just as Karl stumbles slightly, beginning to slip off the bridge.

Sapnap doesn’t turn around in time, Karl loses his grip and begins to fall the thousand or so feet to the lava below them. Quackity tucks his wings, diving after him and cursing their luck. He catches Karl under the arms, spreading his wings out to slow their descent before he begins to make his way back up to the bridge.

He drops Karl onto the larger bridge, landing softly himself and folding his wings. Karl looked embarrassed about his fall, fidgeting with his hands and ears pulled back.

“Sorry, Quackity.” He mumbles, looking rather sorry for himself.

“It’s, it’s fine,” he sighs, “just be more careful next time, okay?”

Karl nods quickly, moving on quickly, eager to move away from the subject. Phil and Techno begin to walk towards the hub, faster than before. He hurries to catch up, Sapnap behind him and Karl in front.

He reaches Karl, who’s walking just behind Techno, Sapnap catches up to both of them a few seconds later. The walk in silence, not wanting to draw attention to their small party in case there was anyone else nearby.

The make it to the shoddily made nether hub, the portal sitting in the centre. One by one, they step through, emerging into L’Manburg on the other side. Quackity relishes in the slightly warmer breeze than the one he’s used to, he wasn’t expecting it to be warm, it was the middle of winter after all.

Techno turns to them, splashing them with a potion, making them all turn invisible. He watches as a few particles begin to move away, following them, assuming it was where they were heading first. They move into a patch of forest.

“Is everyone here?” that’s Phil’s voice.

He receives a chorus of yes’s, confirming that everyone is there.

“The only plan we have is no plan, we’re just causing as much chaos, go wherever you live and do whatever you want to do. Techno is going to give you all an extra invis pot, in case you run out, okay?”

Quackity takes the invisibility potion and stows it away in his inventory, he takes a running jump off into the sky, swooping over the forest and out over L’Manburg. He dives low, over the rooves of the houses. He searches the ground beneath him, eyes scanning for anyone familiar.

He only sees a few civilians, random people he doesn’t know. He moves on, pulling up into the sky as he heads towards the presidential office, the place where all the cabinet meetings are held. He circles the building, dropping lower to look through the windows of the place.

He spots the people he had been looking for through one of the windows, he looks for which meeting room they’re using before diving to the ground, landing and tucking his wings. He heads towards the doorways, checking no one is inside before pushing his way in.

He climbs the stairs, towards the meeting room. Anticipation fills him, to see the people he had left because of, he was curious about how they were doing, how they were coping without him. He reaches the room, Meeting Room 7, according to the sign on the door. He peers through the doorway, watching the people inside.

He sees Tubbo, Fundy, Dream and Ranboo. He hadn’t seen Ranboo from outside, but it looked like he was the minute man, writing quickly in a small book he held. Dream was sat opposite Tubbo at the table, obviously becoming rather frustrated with how things were going in the meeting.

“-you need our power! You are nothing, nothing! Without your friends beside you, you exiled Tommy and Quackity left on the same day, your nation is falling apart in your hands! You obviously aren’t capable!” Dream was almost standing, having risen slightly from his seat whilst he was talking.

“You were the one that forced my hand!” Tubbo shouted back, “You made me exile my friend, and now the nation is falling apart because of your,” he jabbed a finger towards Dream’s chest, “meddling!”

Quackity watched their exchange for several minutes, them going back and forth over something to do with the country’s state. He suddenly hears Techno’s name, causing him to focus in on the conversation.

“Technoblade is out there! For all you know he could be planning to attack you, you wouldn’t stand a chance against him, you barely have an army anymore. You need my help.” Tubbo didn’t seem to have a rebuttal for that, sinking back into his chair in defeat.

He looks around the room, noticing how Ranboo’s eyes are on his position, despite him having an invis pot running. He glances down at his hands, oh shit, his hands are visible again, meaning the rest of him was too. His eyes dart back up to Ranboo, pleading that he doesn’t give him away, Ranboo gives a slight nod, causing Quackity to sigh in relief.

Apparently, Fundy had noticed where Ranboo had been looking because he turns his head and spots him, he isn’t as subtle about it though. He stands quickly from his chair, causing it to go toppling backwards, hitting the ground with a large crash.

That causes everyone to look in the direction Fundy is pointing, spotting him. He begins to back away before turning and fleeing, ignoring the calls of his name following behind him. They stop after a few seconds, replaced with the thundering of boots, chasing after him.

He jumps down the stairs, several flights at a time. He skids around the corner, bursting through the doors and into the outside. He hears them burst out of the doors seconds behind him. He hears Dream shout, “He’s got wings! Someone shoot a weakness arrow!”

He takes off into the sky, putting on a burst of speed. It was a few seconds too late, as he feels a weakness arrow pierce the skin right where his wings connect to his back. He cries out in pain, twisting in the sky slightly as it sends him off balance.

He feels it enter his system almost instantaneously, making it harder and harder for him to fly. He fumbles through his inventory desperately, looking for his invisibility potion, he pulls it out, uncorking it and chugging the whole thing. He disappears moments before he hits the tree canopy, crashing through the leaves and onto the forest floor below. He drags himself away from the crash site, knowing they would find him if he stayed there. He drags himself into a thorn bush, scratching his whole body deeply as he drags himself into its safety.

He collapses, his arms giving out underneath him as his eyes slam shut.

He passes out, head hitting the floor with a dull thud.

…

Karl walks through the city streets, destroying a block or two there, he can see where Sapnap is, the blaze hybrid lighting a few buildings on fire, the occasional plant added into the mix. He watches as Sapnap slowly fades back into vision, looking down at himself he sees the same has happened to him.

He runs to Sapnap, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of sight. He pulls his own invis pot out, watching as Sapnap does the same. He drinks his quickly, eager to get back out there and finish. 

They’re walking up the path that leads to the presidential building, the building itself only a hundred feet in front of them. He turns to Sapnap, about to ask him a question when a door crashing open startles him.

He jumps, looking around just in time to see Quackity booking it away from the building, Dream, Tubbo and Fundy following after him. He watches as Quackity leaps into the sky, flapping his wings furiously to gain altitude.

“He’s got wings! Someone shoot a weakness arrow!” he whips his head back around to fix Dream with a glare, trust the man to shoot Quackity down as soon as he’s given the opportunity. He watches with a fascinated horror as Fundy pulls a bow and arrow out, aiming before releasing the bow.

He watches it sail through the air before meeting its target. He hears Quackity cry out in pain. He knows that he doesn’t have long before he crashes somewhere. He begins to run in the direction he’s flying, watching as he dips lower and lower in the sky. He suddenly disappears from his vision, causing Karl to blink rapidly, wondering where he had gone before processing that he probably drank his invisibility potion.

He continues to run towards the forest, he can hear Sapnap’s familiar footsteps running behind him as he runs into the treeline. He runs towards where he thinks Quackity may have fallen. When he reaches the spot, he sees broken branches scattered around, a few leaves still floating down slowly.

He moves around the area, feeling around for where he might be. He’s not in the surrounding area, so him and Sapnap spread out, they know he can’t have gotten far, so he’s probably within a few feet.

Sapnap begins to search through a thorn bush whilst Karl pokes around in a few normal bushes. He hears Sapnap shout, turning around, watching the bush begin to shake. He assumes that Sapnap has found Quackity, running over to help him. He can hear a few shouts in the distance, causing him to hurry up.

“Got him. Let’s go.” He doesn’t hesitate, beginning to run back to the portal. He pulls up a private chat on his comms.

Quackity’s been shot, heading back to portal now, urgent

Got it, heading back with Techno now, meet you at cabin

Karl tucks his comm back away, hurrying to run through the portal, instantly warping through to the other side. He makes his way quickly back across the large bridge. He walks slower over the smaller one, aware of the fact that Quackity isn’t there to catch him this time.

He makes it to the end, running through the portal, out onto the shoreline. He meets Sapnap there, who apparently had a bucket of milk on him. He had drunk some and given Quackity some by the looks of it.

“Any milk left?”

He gets handed a mostly empty glass bottle of milk. He drinks it quickly, watching as he fades back into vision.

“Phil’s on his way back with Techno, he said he would meet us at the cabin.”

“Okay.”

Sapnap begins to quickly walk back, trudging through the vast amounts of snow, pushing through it when it came up to his knees, carrying Quackity the whole way. They come up to the house, Karl opening the door for Sapnap. They move quickly into their room, pulling their boots, and Quackity’s, off before climbing into the nest.

Sapnap holds Quackity close and Karl winces at how pale the man looks, he looks deathly pale, despite Karl knowing that it’s just the weakness arrow. He looks on worriedly as Sapnap places him down in the middle carefully.

Karl lies down beside him, staring at his pale face. He looks as though he’s sleeping, but Karl knows he’s not. He moves in closer, feeling Sapnap do the same as the inherent heat of him comes closer. He throws an arm over Quackity and Sapnap does the same.

He stares worriedly into Quackity’s face until he falls asleep, face still creased in worry even as he slumbers.

…

Phil bursts into their house through the door, hurriedly pulling his boots off, reluctant to tread snow into the house. His wings have puffed up, feathers ruffling in worry. He doesn’t know what urgent means.

He heads to the boys’ room, worrying about what Quackity had been shot with. He moves into the room quietly, peering into the nest they’re all asleep in. His face softens slightly as he takes in their sleeping forms but he notices how pale Quackity has gone, emphasising and darkening the bags under his eyes.

A weakness potion in some form, he assumes. It means Quackity probably won’t be out of that bed for a few days.

He sighs, his worry dissipated, he walks to the kitchen, past where Techno is sat reading. “He’s fine.” He answers before Techno could ask. He knows that Techno’s become attached to the man, he doesn’t want anything to happen to him, he knows what Techno does when that happens.

He shudders, pulling out potatoes and carrots, he doesn’t want to see that again. He chops the vegetables, dropping them into a pan and beginning to make soup.


	10. Chapter 10

When he came to he felt disorientated, he was surrounded by warmth and something soft. He blinked his eyes open, the light streaming into the room making his head begin to hurt. He screwed them shut again. He turned his face downwards, away from the light, before he opened his eyes again.

When he opened them this time he came face to face with black fabric, the wool of it expertly knitted and weaved, creating an intricate pattern. It was delicate needlework, the stitches small and even. He watched as the fabric rose and fell, presumably with the breaths of whoever was wearing it.

He backtracked at that thought, trying to remember where he had been last. His eyes shot open, him shooting up from the lying position he has in, or he tried to at least. His arms gave out halfway through pushing himself up, causing him to topple sideways. He toppled over, wings spreading out to try and rebalance himself, he crashed onto something soft, the person letting out a small wheeze as his body weight slammed into their chest.

That person let out a groan, blinking their eyes open as Quackity lay half sprawled over their chest limbs twisted at slightly awkward angles. He watched as Karl blinked his eyes open, half sitting up before staring down at where he was sprawled across him.

“Hello?” Karl sounds so confused that Quackity would have laughed if he had the energy to, instead he just flopped his head back down, away from the light that was giving him a headache. He still couldn’t remember how he got back here.

He thought about the last thing he remembered, he twisted himself around to look at his shoulder, but instead of seeing an arrow shaft poking out of his skin he just sees a mass of white, his shoulder swathed in bandages.

He just stared at the bandages for a while, the memories of their trip to L’Manburg slowly trickling back in, he came to the point where he had been spotted, which is when the floodgates burst, the memories of what happened after washing over him, the waves threatened to swallow him.

He hadn’t noticed his breathing becoming faster until someone pulled him upright, sitting him up against themselves and telling him to breathe. He watched their chests move up and down, the steady rhythm that was so different to his uneven, ragged breathing. He breathed in fast and shallow, chest heaving a few times before he took in another breath.

He looked down at his hands, which he felt completely disconnected from, he watched as they shook with a faraway feeling, he didn’t feel as though they were connected to him, just watching as they shook and trembled, faster than his breaths.

He didn’t seem to be able to calm down, a cold feeling creeping up the back of his throat, making every breath that scraped past cold, it made him feel like his lungs were encased in ice, slowly filling up with water, making it harder and harder to breathe as the vice around his chest constricted.

He could feel the cold metal tightening against his skin, pushing harder against his chest as he breathed, it seemed to dig in deeper with each breath in, as if trying to prevent him from breathing altogether. He felt someone’s hand against his chest, hot against cold.

He glanced up, eyes blown wide as he searches their face, it’s Sapnap, he realises distantly, his mind feeling as though it were disconnecting further from his body with each squeeze of the vice and droplet of water in his lungs. He can’t feel his hands anymore, but when he looks down he can see them still there, trembling and shaking. He can see the hand on his chest as well, the hand is solid and warm, unshaking against his fluttering chest, it moves up and down with each shaky breath.

He hears all of the noise in the room come, not even realising it had disappeared, it washes over him, overwhelming his brain slightly. He tries to cover his ears with his hands, but he can’t find the strength to do so.

He feels one of his hands being taken, held in a soothing warmth as its guided somewhere. He watches it move in fascination and feeling as it connects with someone else’s chest. He feels the even, deep breaths, the way their chest moves in and out in a slow, even rhythm.

“Quackity, Q, you need to breathe, okay?” their voice is soft, allowing him to focus in on them, despite the softness of their voice it drowns out all other sounds in the room, allowing him to focus on their words.

He looks up to see Sapnap’s face, hair pulled back with his white bandanna, forehead creased in concern, he feels guilty to be the cause of that concern as he watches Sapnap exaggerate his breathing, encouraging him to follow along.

“I’m going to count for you, okay? Follow my breathing.” He nods, head jerking forward and back in a trembly motion, he listens as Sapnap begins to count, trying to follow along his breathing to the pattern he’s creating for him.

He doesn’t quite get it at first, his breathing moving faster than Sapnap’s, chest in and out, desperately trying to get enough oxygen in. His breathing begins to slow, coming nearer and nearer to the example that Sapnap is setting, his hand moving with the rise and fall of chest, listening to the counting. 

He slowly begins to feel more connected to his body, as if he’s being reeled back in, put back in his own body, able to see and feel from it rather than as if he’s in a third person view, watching and unable to do anything.

He begins to come back to himself, bit by bit, until his breathing matches Sapnap’s, slow and even, in and out, flowing easily through his lungs as though there was never any water filling them, choking him from the inside out.

“Thank you,” he gasps, still getting used to the feeling of air in his lungs, relishing in every breath he takes, able to feel as though he’s actually absorbing the oxygen. He feels Karl’s arms encircle him from behind, being mindful of his wings and bandaged shoulder. He feels the arms hold him close, pulling him slightly backwards until he’s sat in someone’s lap.

He feels too tired to protest it, the panic he felt upon waking draining him of any energy he had may have had. He still felt shaky, weak, as though he wouldn’t be able to support himself if he stood up. He didn’t quite understand how weakness potions affected you, but he assumed this was due to the combined results of the potion and the panic attack he had just had.

He let himself lean back against Karl, wincing as he puts pressure on his wings, Karl seems to notice this as he feels himself being pulled up, held under the arms as he gets readjusted. He feels rather ridiculous, being moved around as if he can’t do it himself. 

He’s facing Sapnap now, who’s moved to sit beside Karl. He readjusts his wings so that they’re more comfortable, moving them so that they aren’t being squashed between him and Karl. He leans his full weight into Karl, who responds by sinking back further into the duvets where he’s leaned.

He watches as Sapnap reaches out, looking to him to make sure he can see what he’s doing, when he doesn’t pull away Sapnap pulls the wings around, making sure not to pull it in a direction it can’t go. He winces when he sees the state of his wings, several leaves and twigs buried deep in the feathers, stuck between feathers.

In other areas the feathers are stuck up, ruffled and sometimes barely hanging on. He knows those ones will have to be pulled out, but he can’t do it at that moment, not possessing the energy to take care of them.

He watches as Sapnap begins to stroke his fingers through the feathers, dislodging any dirt that had amassed on the feathers. He delicately pulls the twigs and leaves out, being gentle as he could, removing the loose feathers efficiently with a small tug.

Quackity’s thankful for the gentle attention, not up to doing it himself, but unable to rest with the discomfort.

He watches with drooping eyes, leaning up against Karl as Sapnap cleans his wing. He feels his eyes begin to shut and does not resist the call of sleep, allowing himself to slip into the darkness and falling asleep.

…

Karl looked down at where Quackity was rested up against him, watching as his chest rose and fell with the even breaths of sleep, wildly different from the short and ragged breaths from earlier. He feels himself soften at how peaceful he looks in his sleep.

He watches his face as it relaxes, he looks over to Sapnap, watching as he combs through Quackity’s wing. It looks rather beaten up if he’s being honest, the feathers skewed and out of place, sticking up here and there.

He looks over to the door as someone knocks on it, “Come in,” he makes sure to keep his voice low, reluctant to wake Quackity now that he’s fallen asleep. He watches as Phil pushes the door open with his shoulder, his large dark grey wings tucked neatly behind him. He walks in, with three bowls of soup balanced precariously along his arms.

He walks over to the bed, handing them a bowl each then placing the third on the table beside the bed. He peers at Quackity’s face and presses his hand against his forehead, checking his temperature. He withdraws his hand slowly, “He seems to be doing fine now, he’ll just be a bit weak from the weakness potion leaving his system. It should only be a day or so until he’s fine again.” He keeps his voice low, obviously not wanting to wake Quackity either, “The best thing for him to do will be sleeping,” Karl nods, showing that he’s listening as he holds Quackity securely against his chest.

Phil leaves the room, shutting the door behind him quietly. He listens as his footsteps move away, back down the hallway to the kitchen. He looks to Sapnap, who is already halfway through his bowl of soup, able to eat it without burning his mouth.

Karl sets his bowl on the bedside table next to Quackity’s. He knows he won’t be able to eat it for a while, he will burn his mouth if he ingests something that hot. He watches as Sapnap finishes the soup, placing the spoon back in the bowl. He looks over to Karl before handing the bowl to him, he sighs and places the empty bowl on the table too.

He waits for another few minutes before retrieving his bowl as well and beginning to eat it, it’s nice, he likes root vegetables in soup and potatoes are some of his favourite. He finishes it quickly, placing it back on the table once he does.

He leans back further, bringing Quackity with him and holding the man against his chest. He pulls the man’s beanie off carefully, stroking his hair and running a delicate finger over the feathers. He strokes his fingers along the man’s dark hair, brushing it away from where it had fallen into his face.

“You love him don’t you.” He looks up at Sapnap, seeing that the man was watching him. He blushes slightly, looking away and feeling slightly awkward. He looks back to Sapnap, “Yeah. You do too don’t you?”

Sapnap sighs at this, “I, I don’t know. I like him, yes, but I also like someone else, I don’t know whether I can like both of them.” Karl frowns in sympathy, a similar feeling residing within him too. He thinks carefully about what he’s about to say before he does.

“That’s allowed, you know.” Sapnap looks to him before looking away, blushing slightly.

“I know, I just don’t know whether he,” he gestured towards Quackity, “agrees.”

Karl doesn’t want to move onto that topic, he changes the subject slightly, “Who is the other person?” he thinks, he can’t think of anyone other than him and Quackity that Sapnap spends time around, maybe George? He doesn’t think he’s on friendly terms with Dream right now, so he doubts it would be him.

He looks up to see that Sapnap has gone a light shade of pink, which almost made Karl laugh, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen his friend blush before. He doesn’t laugh, wanting to spare his friends feelings.

“Well? Who is it to get you blushing like that?”

Sapnap mutters something under his breath, turning more red. Karl does laugh now, “Come on,” he draws out the last letter, “it can’t be that bad.”

Sapnap looks slightly akin to a tomato right now with how red he’s gone, “I, uh, I said,” he pauses for a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling slowly, “it’s you Karl.”

And, Karl had not been expecting that. Not that he was upset, this was pretty much the best thing that he could have hoped for.

“Well,” he breathes a laugh, “that’s good then.” He laughs, watching as Sapnap’s face turns confused. “Huh?”

This makes Karl laugh more, before remembering the person sleeping on him, his laughter subsides as he turns and looks Sapnap in the face. He feels his face begin to burn with what he’s about to say. “It’s a good thing you like me too. Otherwise I would have looked like a bit of an idiot.”

He’s pretty sure his face is on fire, he must look worse than Sapnap’s tomato impression. Poor Sapnap looks like he’s cycling through every single emotion there is. He reaches an arm out to him, tugging Sapnap closer as he takes his hand. Sapnap falls against his side with a slightly muffled ‘oof’ from where his face landed in Karl’s hoodie.

He brings his head up, confusion colouring the creases of his face, “You like me? As in like, like-like.” 

“Yeah? Why so doubtful Sap.” He watches as Sapnap buries his face back in Karl’s hoodie, laughing as he sees the man’s ears turn red. It’s amusing to him how easy it is to fluster Sapnap, how had he not done this before.

“I don’t think anyone’s liked me before.” He hears the words clearly, despite his voice being slightly muffled in Karl’s hoodie, and they make his heart hurt. 

“Well, I do, and I’m pretty sure Quackity does from the way he looks at you, you may be blind but I sure as honk am not.”

“I’m blind?” Sapnap sounds incredulous, his head shooting up to stare at Karl, “Have you not seen the way he looks at you?” This is slightly embarrassing he feels, having been able to spot the looks that Quackity sends Sapnap and the looks Sapnap sent Quackity, but being unable to see that both of them liked him too.

“No?” Sapnap laughs at his admission.

“I suppose we’re both blind then.” 

“Yeah,” he trails off, looking over to Sapnap, who’s settling himself more comfortably against Karl, “What about Quackity though?” 

“What do you mean? He apparently looks at us both in the same way, we just need to talk to him when he wakes up again.”

“I am awake.”

They both look towards where Quackity is resting on Karl, eyes widening in surprise, they send each other a slightly guilty look.

“You know that when you talk loudly, you tend to wake people up, especially with Schlatt shouting in my ear to wake up.”

Now that is extremely embarrassing, Schlatt had seemingly taken it upon himself to sort out their conversation with Quackity, waking him up so he could listen.

“Schlatt watched that whole thing?” He was mortified. Quackity turns his head slightly to the side as if listening.

“Yes, he says it was incredibly awkward for him, and he wasn’t even a part of the conversation. Honestly I feel the same, you two are incredibly bad at articulating your feelings.”

“And you aren’t?” Sapnap accuses.

“No, I like both of you, there, done.” He sounded incredibly smug, face still pressed up against Karl. Karl sighs, looking over to Sapnap who just shrugs, curling in closer to the three of them. Quackity rolls over onto his front, still resting on Karl. He throws his wing over Sapnap, effectively giving him a blanket.

“I’m going to sleep now.” He watches in an odd fascination as Quackity, then Sapnap fall asleep. He sits there for a while longer, watching the two sleep. He begins to feel his eyes close, looking over to the clock conveniently next to him, the hands told him that it was night, and a glance out the window confirmed that.

He’s not sure how long he watched the two sleep, probably only an hour or so, meaning it was early evening when Quackity woke up, he’d slept for a solid four hours. 

Karl settled down lower, bringing his arms tighter around Quackity and closing his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit the 80,000 word mark on my series, I hsd to sit down and take a minute to realise that I was, in fact, writing stories about block people.


	11. Chapter 11

He woke up slowly, looking around at the cold stone around him. He didn’t know where he was, the stone unfamiliar to him. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was exactly. He shivered, his breaths coming out in puffs of cold air as he trembled.

Looking down he realised that his winter gear was gone and he was back in his old clothes, the ones he would wear before he left L’Manburg. He tries to pull his wings around him, looking for the warmth the downy feathers will provide him.

He feels nothing respond. He freezes, panic settling deep within his stomach as he desperately tries to move his wings, not even feeling a slight bit of resistance from them that would indicate that they were bound.

He looks around the room again, looking everywhere but where his back was. There was nothing in the room except for more smooth stone, a small gap that showed something else beyond it. He got up, intending to head towards it.

He didn’t get far, something catching around his ankle as he tries to move, looking down he sees a tight metal band wrapped around his ankle, preventing him from going any further. He follows the chain attached to it, coming to a stop where it was embedded in the wall.

He supposed this wasn’t just a random room, it was a cell. He looked up, expecting to see a few lights that were illuminating the place, instead, he saw the sky, high above him. It was a beautiful cornflower blue, small, fluffy white clouds drifting across it, creating an idyllic picture.

He wished to leap into the sky, to fly away, but he still felt no response from his wings. He sighed, dropping his head back down before pulling his shirt off. He turns to face his back.

He inhaled, breath getting caught in his throat, causing him to choke. His wings weren’t there, and not in the way that they never were there to begin with, he could see long lines carved into his back, scabbed over.

He turned around to face the gap, hearing a stone skitter by outside. He couched to see through the small slit, seeing a dark green, then a lime green, colour move closer. He couldn’t see much other than the colours, leaving him to wonder who the people were.

He heard a lever click, the whirring of a redstone machine before the walls on either side of the slit pulled away, allowing the two people to walk into the room.

It was Tubbo and Dream, Dream’s hand on Tubbo’s shoulder, gently guiding him inside. Dream’s face was unreadable underneath his mask. He turned to look at Tubbo’s face, expecting some kind of emotion, anything, anger, regret, guilt. He would take any.

He was met with a smooth porcelain disk, a smile messily drawn on. He stumbled a bit, shocked by the sight he was met with. The two men stood next to each other, as similar as they could be, the only difference between the two was the height and shades of green.

He felt slightly sick, the stumps of his wings and the people in front of him contributing to it. He watched as Tubbo stepped away from Dream, walking towards him. His steps were confident, hardly making a sound against the stone floor.

He felt panic begin to rise in him, his heart beating faster. He rummaged through his inventory, looking for anything that he could defend himself with. He would take a pickaxe at this point. His hands came up empty, his inventory completely cleared out.

He brought his hands up to his chest, taking up a defensive position, he tried to spread out his weight but almost toppled over, unused to balancing without the extra weight on his back.

Tubbo reached him, mask smiling at him in the light.

“Hello Quackity.” His voice was empty, betraying no emotion he felt. He watched as Tubbo revealed a small pair of cuffs, linking them around his wrists before undoing the chain that bound him to the wall.

“We just wanted to make sure you didn’t leave L’Manburg again, after all, we need our vice president.” He gulped, that did not sound reassuring.

Tubbo grabbed the chain linking his wrists, giving it a small jerk, getting him moving after him. He watched as he was pulled from the room, still shirtless, not given time to put it back on. He was led behind Tubbo, who was walking behind Dream.

They moved through stone corridors into obsidian ones. The dark colour made it harder to tell how far they were walking. Dream pulled them into a room. He watched as the walls were lined with items, seemingly appearing from thin air.

He watches with a strange fascination as Dream fades away, he turns to Tubbo who does the same. He feels a weight reappear on his back, twisting around to see his wings there, as if they had never been gone in the first place. The skin is unmarked, any traces of scabs or wounds gone.

He turned back to the room, walking along the hallway, he read the signs as he went, growing more worried as he passed more and more, items either by the sign or an area waiting for them to be.

He reached a room with a portal, watching as a transparent version of the lift descends, bringing a transparent Dream, Tubbo and Tommy with it. He watches as they go back and forth, mouths moving without any words coming out.

He watches Dream move away, he watches Tommy and Tubbo hug each other, Tubbo smiling despite the tears that streamed down both of their cheeks.

He watches as the three transparent figures freeze, turning towards the portal on one of the walls. He watches in amazement as a transparent Punz steps through, saying something that makes Dream step back.

Quackity watches as almost all of the server steps through, transparent against the real walls around them.

He watches as Dream turns to face him, not the transparent version of him that is present, stood beside Sapnap and Karl. The real him, he feels Dream’s gaze fix onto him, watching as the man pulls out a crossbow and shoots it at him.

…

Quackity woke with a start, glancing quickly around before seeing where he was. As he took in the walls of his room, the duvets piled high on his bed he sank back down, feeling his heart begin to slow. He presses himself closer into the people around him, tucking his wing back over Sapnap from where it had been pulled off in his brief moment of panic.

He rests his cheek back against Karl’s chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, it reassured him that he was in fact here and not somewhere else. He heard a sleepy mumble from beside him. It was the only warning he got before Sapnap yanked him from Karl, bringing him to rest between the two.

He let himself be pulled into the new position, allowing Sapnap to move his wings around until he was blanketing all three of them. He didn’t even try to move away or get up, he still felt slightly trembly, as if he would fall over if he even tried to get up. He’s just glad that he’s not sick, he’s heard that it can have that effect on some people.

He turns his head to face Sapnap, watching the man’s face as he looks back at him. They blink at each other a few times, just staring with no words. Quackity knows that they’ll have to have a serious conversation about earlier at some point, but he doesn’t want to do it now, content to just sit on the fact that he knew they liked him, and they knew he liked them. It was enough for him.

He shifted, wings stretching slightly above his head, not getting far before landing back where they were before, he watches as Sapnap pushes himself up, leaning over him and Karl he grabs something, bringing it back over their heads carefully, as if afraid to drop it.

Sapnap places his hand underneath what appears to be a bowl, he seems to do something because the next thing he knows the bowl is steaming. He pulls Quackity up into a sitting position, despite him being able to sit up on his own, he placed the bowl in his lap, allowing him access to the soup inside.

He just stared at it, knowing that it would be too hot for him to eat, he looks back up at Sapnap who is staring at him expectantly.

“It’s too hot.” Sapnap tips his head, not dissimilar to when Karl does it, almost dog-like in the way his head tilts. He looks down to the bowl, then back up to Quackity.

“Oh, sorry. You’ll have to wait for that to cool down then.” Quackity sits, occasionally blowing on the food to help cool it down. He waits until the steam dissipates, taking that as it being cooler. He brings the soup up closer to him before taking a mouthful.

It’s warm, but not too warm, he can taste the carrots and potatoes. They seem to be the only thing that Techno and Phil have stored for winter, not that he’s complaining, he’s lucky they took him in during the harshest season. He continues to slowly eat the soup, feeling the warmth spread through him and bringing more strength to his limbs until he feels like he could stand up if he wanted.

He sits there, the bowl perched on one of his knees after he’s finished. He brings one wing around, the one closest to Karl, and begins to preen it, slotting the feathers back into place. He feels something else grabbing his wing causing him to freeze as he turns to face Sapnap, who’s holding his wing watching him.

He gives a small nod, allowing Sapnap to begin to work on his wings. He ignores the weird feeling that settles in his gut, it feels warm. He allows the feeling to spread through his body until he’s more so sat, allowing Sapnap to sort his wings for him than doing it himself.

He feels Karl roll over, rolling up against where Quackity is sat, he watches as Karl lifts his head, blinking blearily before flopping down into Quackity’s lap. He allows him, brushing his fingers through Karl’s hair and scratching behind his ears.

Karl allows himself to be pet as Sapnap finishes with Quackity’s wings. Once he has withdrawn his hand Quackity tucks his wings away, folding them neatly behind his back. Sapnap gets up, pulling on his boots whilst sat on the rug. He straightens out his outfit and pulls his hair back and reties his bandanna.

Quackity tries to get up as well, key word being ‘tries’, Karl clings to him, whining at him to not go. He rolls his eyes, wanting to get up after being sat in the bed for however long. He pries Karl off of him, standing up and pulling his boots on whilst standing. He looks around for his belt and sash.

He doesn’t have to look far, seeing them discarded on the floor in a crumpled heap. He bends and picks it up, swiftly fastening the belt and retying the piece of fabric around his waist. He looks over to the bed, expecting Karl to be up, but he wasn’t.

He walked over to the bed, seeing Karl still laying in the same position he had left him in. he was getting a tad bit worried now, Karl was normally hard to wake up, but once he was awake, he would get up.

Sapnap came up beside him, looking at Karl with slight worry, forehead creasing as his eyebrows furrowed. He reaches in to shake Karl’s shoulder, resulting in only a grumble and a half-hearted swipe of his hand to get him to leave him alone.

“Karl?” Sapnap’s voice is soft, “Are you okay?” Karl groans slightly muffled in the bed below him. “I’m just, really tired, despite having slept at least eighteen hours consecutively within the past day.

“Well, you should just get up, gotta get you moving, might make you feel a bit better.” Sapnap pulls Karl up, shifting his grip to under his arms to pull him out of the bed. He allows himself to be pulled, falling out of the bed and his feet dragging along the floor.

Sapnap shifts his weight again, throwing Karl over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Karl stared at the floor, allowing himself to be carried out of the room. Quackity follows after Sapnap, watching as he carries Karl through the longue. They receive a judgemental look from Techno over his glasses as they walk through to the kitchen.

Phil is sat eating his food, three other plates on the table around him. Sapnap unceremoniously dumps Karl into a chair before dropping into one himself. Quackity sits in the chair between Karl and Phil, neatly dropping his wings over the back of the chair to allow him to sit comfortably. 

Phil looks over to them, eyes narrowing in on the way Karl leans up against Quackity, almost asleep at the table. He feels his gaze turn to him as he eats his food. He ignores his gaze, knowing that he would only see a smug look, an I-told-you-so look, so he didn’t make eye contact, focusing on his food.

He tried to focus on getting Karl to sit up and eat his food, pushing him upright with one wing. He picked at his food, not too hungry after eating soup not too long ago. He pushed at Karl’s shoulder again, pointing him towards where his food sat, untouched.

Karl picked his toast up and began to eat it, slowly chewing as he blinked a bit more. He seemed to wake up some more as he ate his food. He began to look slightly more awake, but he still looked tired and his eyes would droop every now and again.

Sapnap rolled his eyes and picked Karl up again, ignoring the way Phil shot Quackity a look. Quackity stood slowly, watching as Sapnap leaves the room, Karl held in his arms. He picked up all of their plates, dumping them in the sink and hoping that Phil would be nice enough to wash them.

He turned around, coming face to face with Phil. He jumps slightly, not expecting the man to be that close.

“You know that Ghostbur can communicate with Schlatt.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. Quackity had already known where this had been going when he was left behind in the kitchen with Phil.

“Yes, and I already know what you’re talking about. We don’t need to go over it again.”

Phil’s face softened, “You know I’m here for you, right.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

Phil let him brush past him into the longue. What he hadn’t expected to emerge onto was Karl sitting on the sofa, hyperventilating, as he stares at his hands. Techno is crouched in front of him, trying to help him breathe slower. 

Sapnap stood off to the side, watching as Techno tried to help calm Karl down, counting for him to follow along, similar to what had been done to Quackity the day before. Karl still shook, breaths coming in short gasps as he stared at his hands.

Coming closer, Quackity got a better look at his hands, and Karl as a whole. The man seemed to be more see through, his hands slowly shaking away their solidity. Quackity froze where he was, watching as Karl slowly faded away, his form warping slightly as the sound of ticking filled the room. 

A clock chimed twelve and Karl winked out of existence.


	12. Chapter 12

Karl woke up at night. He was in a spruce forest, in the middle of nowhere, nothing except for a small village nearby. The village was nestled among the tall trees, their trunks wide and dark, their branches high above the head, casting long shadows along the ground.

As he neared the village, he took in its rustic design, the way the path was a crudely made dirt track rather than the wooden paths of L’Manburg. The village was lit with a few small lanterns casting a soft glow along the ground, creating small pools of light in the darkness.

He stumbled along the track, disorientated, not knowing where he was or how he got here. The town was unfamiliar, too small to be any of the settlements of any people he knows. He makes his way into the centre of the town, a small fountain standing proudly.

The water splashed quietly, creating a quite ambiance to the town. He looked around carefully, taking note of all the locked doors, he assumed there were people inside, all sleeping peacefully, it was the middle of the night after all.

He went up to the nearest door, knocking timidly on the wood, it echoed loudly around the otherwise quite centre. He hears a shuffling of footsteps behind the door. He saw a flame burst into life, the flame dimming before being used to light a lantern.

The door is pulled open, a young adult blinking out into the night. He wore rather old-fashioned clothes, ones that would be more suited to over a hundred years ago than now.

“Hello?” The child spoke up, sounding confused rather than scared, which Karl was grateful for.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, can I come in?” He looked into the eyes of the child, “I got a bit lost in the night, I’m not sure where I am right now.”

The boy watched him for a second, eyes narrowing slightly before opening the door wider, allowing him in. The boy looked to his head, Karl reaching up, patting his ears, then withdrawing his hand self-consciously. He hoped that the boy didn’t discriminate against his kind.

He walked into the house, taking in the sparse walls and the shoddy build. He wasn’t one to judge, but it looked like it was built by someone with little expertise. The boy led him to a small room, a bed tucked in one corner and a blanket with a few bundles of fabric. 

Karl moved over to the blanket, not wanting to steal the bed. He lay down, shivering slightly and feeling alone without Quackity and Sapnap by his side, he doesn’t feel like he’s slept on his own in years. He falls asleep with no trouble.

…

He rouses at the sound of someone moving around, coming to much easier than he had last time he awoke, he doesn’t think he ever wants to feel that tired again, the panic from seeing himself turn see through was enough.

He stands from his blanket, the bed already empty and made. He folds the fabrics and the blanket, placing them where they had been the night before, before he had used them.

He moved from the small room into an equally small room. The boy from the night before was stood in the kitchen, nibbling on a chunk of bread. When he enters the boy turns to him, now wearing a small hat on his head.

He holds out a small section of bread to him, which Karl takes gratefully, ripping off a small chunk before shoving it into his mouth. He finished his section of bread off quickly, turning to the boy beside him.

He felt bad about only referring to him as ‘the boy’. He smiled, and stuck out his hand, “Hi, sorry for barging in on you last night. The name’s Karl.”

He hoped his smile was reassuring, allowing the boy to shake his hand, “I’m Robin.” His answer was quiet, barely above a whisper.

He startled as he heard a shout from outside, whipping around, ears pricked forward to pick up any other sound. Robin looked to him before dashing outside. Karl followed quickly behind. Outside, there was a man stumbling around, obviously looking for something.

Robin ran to him, which was when Karl noticed the small cat ears poking out of the older man’s hair, there was a cat’s tail waving around behind him, either agitated or trying to keep him balanced. Robin began to try and calm the man down, which resulted in him turning around, allowing Karl to see his face properly, more importantly, the milky white eyes he had that indicated that he was blind.

Robin began to speak to him in hushed tones as other people began to emerge from the surrounding houses. He got a few weird looks, which he didn’t understand, they were all dressed in rather drab clothes, in browns and whites, with very little colour variation between them. Looking down at himself, he realised why they were all staring at him. His hoodie was coloured in several different hues, his clothes being extravagant and styled.

Robin seemed to have calmed the man down slightly, but he was still obviously upset. The townspeople gathered closer, obviously eager to discover what had gotten him so riled up.

An older woman approached Robin and the man, “Well Catboy? What is it? You seem mighty stressed for this early in the morning.” Her pitch rose and fell, creating a rather unpleasant sounding voice. He struggled not to wince at it.

The man, apparently named Catboy, which whilst fitting wasn’t the most creative of names, turned around to face the woman.

“It’s Cornelius,” he sputtered, which seemed to get a reaction from those around him. Karl didn’t know who Cornelius was, but he obviously meant something to the people here.

Another man pressed forward, placing an arm around the woman, “What about Cornelius?” The man seemed to be the best dressed in the town, apparently the richest there.

“He, he’s not responding, and I don’t know whether he’s just asleep, or, or, something else.” Karl knew what the ‘something else’ meant, apparently the people in the village did too as they surged towards one of the houses. Robin guided Catboy, seemingly the man’s friend. They entered a house, which seemed to be a shared space between this Cornelius and Catboy.

They walked in through the door and into a smaller room, the people unable to enter peering in from the doorway. On the ground next to the bed was a man, he lay still, his eyes glazed over. There was a small wound in his chest, right where his heart would be.

He was dead, and had been for a long time.

The village decided to hold court against everyone in the village, excluding him for some reason. He wasn’t the murderer, but he had literally shown up in the middle of the night, the same night that their friend was murdered.

He rummaged through his inventory, looking for a small book. He pulled one out as the session began. He wrote what had happened so far into his book. He took in the old-fashioned clothes and people once more, before deciding that he had somehow ended up a hundred or so years in the past. He brushed it aside, noting down the important points of what was happening.

They had decided to move Robin, Catboy and another person called Miles, to what they called the chopping block. They stood in front of a small prison, no one looked eager to go near it, and Karl could smell redstone dust in the air, meaning that this wasn’t just any prison.

They went through each they considered guilty asking them to defend themselves. He watched as they began to tell Catboy that he wasn’t blind, that he was the murderer, saying he was blind so he was able to excuse why he hadn’t seen that he had been murdered and to get away with it himself.

He watched as Robin looked on distraught, Catboy shoved into the small prison. The woman walked over to a lever sitting nearby and flicked it into another position. The smell of lit redstone travelled through the air, hitting Karl’s sensitive nose and making him sneeze. When he looked up again, Catboy was gone.

He walked over to the prison, peering inside then stepping back in horror. There was a small pit of lava below the stone bricks and as the redstone activated again the bricks slid back over, as if there was nothing underneath it.

He gulped and turned back to the village that had at least one murderer in it.

…

Robin never spoke again, taking his trial the next day in silence, allowing himself to be put to death beside his friend. Karl watched with pained eyes as the boy fell out of his sight. He turned away, back towards the village.

…

He watched as the village’s people died around him. There were only two people left in the end, the men Jack and Bob. He had never really interacted with them, seeing them as nice people. He had mourned alongside them for all the people they lost.

He watched as they turned on him with sharpened blades.

He saw the axe go through his chest rather than felt it. He watched as his body faded away, his book detailing all that had happened within the last four days clutched tightly in his grip.

…

He awoke in a bed, still clutching that book as he shot up, clutching his chest as he faded back into view. He was alone in their room in Techno’s house. He sat there for a few minutes, unsure of what to do.

He pulled himself from the cosy nest, because despite feeling like he could sleep for a year, he had to go check on Quackity and Sapnap. He had seen their worried faces as he faded away, which tugged at his heart more than his own panic had.

He walked down the hallway with soft feet, the floorboards not even creaking as he passed over them. He peered around the corner into the longue, taking in the roaring fire and the pair that sat beside it. Sapnap was holding Quackity in his lap, sat on a pile of cushions and leaned back against the fireplace mantle.

Quackity was reading a book, he didn’t know what on, he couldn’t read the title from where he was stood. Techno was sat on the sofa, back towards him as he read his book, eyes presumably flickering over the lines. Phil was perched next to him, stroking through his feathers the way he had seen Quackity do.

He looked back to Quackity, choosing the moment the man looks up from his book to make eye contact with him. Quackity’s eyes widened in surprise, tossing his book down on the floor without marking his page, which Karl knew he would be annoyed about later. Quackity crossed the room in a few long strides, flinging himself at Karl and wrapping his arms around his neck.

Karl staggered, slightly shocked by the weight thrown at him. He hugged Quackity back with just as much intensity, burying his face in the man’s hair, surprised that he has his beanie off. He watches as Sapnap stands up from his corner, barely able to see past the wings that Quackity wrapped around him.

He pushes his way underneath Quackity’s small shelter, hugging Karl as well, holding them both tightly against himself. Quackity still hasn’t let go of Karl, clinging onto him like a koala, he didn’t mind though, letting Quackity cling to him as Sapnap pulls away.

He walks over to the sofa, intending on apologising to Techno, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen the man so worried before. He was grateful that he had tried to help him, even if it didn’t work. He pushed the golden wings out of his face, poking his face past them and grinning at Techno and Phil, who were just kind of watching him.

“Sorry for worrying you.” Techno smiles back at him, slightly anxious. “You didn’t worry me, I think the most worried was Quackity.” He nods towards the man still holding onto Karl. He had his arms held under Quackity, supporting him so the Avian didn’t tug his neck down from how much weight he was placing on his neck.

He moves over to the corner they were sat in before he came in, leaning up against Sapnap, Quackity’s grip slightly looser, but still holding around his neck. The corner was cosy, pillows pushed into the corner to make it comfortable. He thinks he remembers Quackity sitting here when they busted their door down in that snowstorm. He can’t be sure though, as he was pretty out of it, dying of hypothermia and all.

“Where did you go?” Quackity’s voice is quiet, as if reluctant to break the silence that had settled over the room. The others turned to him expectantly, expecting an answer from him.

“First, how long was I gone for?”

“Uh,” Sapnap thought, “Maybe four hours?” Karl was surprised that it was only four hours, expecting it to have been longer from the way they all reacted at his reappearance. Then again, he looked down to Quackity, maybe they had just gotten attached to him.

“Okay, so, I was gone for like, four days,” he pauses at the incredulous look Sapnap shoots him, “yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but even crazier,” he paused for dramatic effect, “I was at least a hundred years in the past.”

“No way.” Sapnap sounded awed, reaching up and picking the book Quackity was reading up. He could read the cover now, ‘The Science of Time Travel’. It seems that Quackity is better at picking out books than he anticipated.

“Quackity said he was drawn to this book, he didn’t know why, but he’s been reading it since you left.”

“Huh, that’s…interesting.” 

“No, we are not gonna brush over the fact that you just said you ended up somewhere at least a hundred years in the past.” Phil sounded flabbergasted, looking at him in shock. Karl laughed, slightly guilty, “Sorry, sorry. I wrote it all down if you want me to tell you though.” He brandishes the book, opening it to the first page at the eager nods he received.

“this is the story,” he began, “of the village that went mad.” He flipped the page and began to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda hate the fact that I had to call someone catboy in this chapter unironically, but it was his name in that tftsmp.


	13. Chapter 13

Quackity sat and read the book, eyes quickly skimming over Karl’s chicken scratch writing. The book detailed the four days he had spent in a village, seemingly from another time. It described the way that there had been a murder on the day they arrived, how they executed a blind man first, then an orphan child after he refused to talk at the court session the next day.

The book allowed them to get to know the people of the village, detailing what they were like and the personalities of them. Karl seemed genuinely upset at the deaths, but Quackity only felt a disconnect from their stories, never having met them in person. He listened as he read over the last few lines, detailing the deaths of the last three people in the village. The only people that remained were the murderers.

The next page was blank, a small spatter of crimson against the ivory-coloured pages. Quackity looked at it, slowly piecing together the events of the four days, he came to a stop at the crimson stain, looking up to Karl, knowing what it meant.

The man had woken up in their bed, nothing but the book on him. He thought that should be impossible, if you died you didn’t keep anything you had on you, no matter how important. He glances over to his book, placed on the table beside them when Karl began to tell his tale. He wondered if the book held any answers.

Sapnap hadn’t been lying earlier when he said Quackity had felt drawn to it, it was less peaceful, more like a hook in his mind dragging his eyes towards where it was sitting on the shelf. He felt his hands stick to it the moment he picked it up, images flashing like memories behind his eyes. He had been unable to look up from the book until Karl reappeared, the book releasing its hold on his mind.

He didn’t know when the books had begun to hold more power over him than he did over them. He can still remember the day he found the hybrid book, unable to stop reading until Schlatt interrupted him with his history lesson. His mind seemed drawn to all knowledge it could find, only looking towards relevant subjects, whether he realised they were or not.

He didn’t feel like revealing this new… power he seemed to have acquired, wanting to focus on Karl and the unusual time travel he seemed to have done. He looked up as someone said his name. Making eye contact with Sapnap, crouched in front of him. His hand was extended, as if offering it to him. He realised that Sapnap was offering it to him, placing his palm in his hand and allowing himself to be pulled up and away from Karl.

He stumbled slightly, his legs numb from how long he had been sat down. He shook his wings out, releasing any stiffness and watching as a few loose feathers floated to the floor. He allowed himself to be pulled along, putting his boots on when instructed to. He shivered as the door was pulled open, a sharp wind blowing inside and chilling him slightly. A few flakes of snow drifted in through the open doorway as Sapnap stepped out into the cold.

Quackity stepped after him, bringing his wings around him out of instinct, despite the winter weight clothing he wore. He heard someone step out behind him, feet crunching in the thin layer of snow that had gathered on the porch. Looking back, he sees Karl standing behind him, watching as Sapnap made his way out into the snow.

He feels like this is the first time he’s been out in days, because it was. He hadn’t left the cabin since their small excursion to L’Manburg. Feeling the wind in his hair for the first time in days he spreads his wings, a small bend of his knees the only warning before he takes to the skies. He shoots upwards feeling the wind press close to his skin, guiding him upwards into the sky.

He shoots through the clouds, dispersing them slightly as he breaks past their low-hanging formation. They hand heavy with snow, low in the sky, leading Quackity to realise that it will be snowing heavily by the end of the day. He drops into the clouds, shivering in the coldness of them. He can see two small figures on the snow-covered landscape below him. They’re looking around and up to the sky, but they seem unable to spot him among the clouds.

He waits until they both look away, turning their backs on each other, he tucks his wings to his back, shooting out of the sky and down to the ground below. He flares his wings out at the last second, causing a loud pop to echo around the area from the displaced air. They both flinch, especially the one he’s landed behind. 

He doesn’t give either a chance to turn around, grabbing the one he landed behind under the arms and pushing off of the ground, shooing back up into the sky, Karl dangling from his grip. The man shouts as he sees the ground far below him, but Quackity can see his tail wagging, indicating that he’s enjoying the thrill of it. Karl throws his head back to look at him, grinning, his eyes shining and cheeks slightly red.

He tucks his wings again, relishing in adrenaline as he swoops down to the ground, plummeting towards the earth with no boundary between him and gravity. Karl almost twists and falls out of his grip in his panic to stay held. He twists himself around, clinging onto Quackity, making it slightly more awkward to fly. He waits until the last second to pull up, disturbing the snow below him and sending it piling up into drifts with the wind from his landing.

Sapnap runs towards them, making good distance as he runs across the tundra. When he reaches Quackity he throws himself at him, Karl quickly detaching himself from Quackity and stepping out of the way as he sees the man booking it towards them. Sapnap crashes into Quackity sending him to the ground, wings flaring out slightly before being squashed against the ground from Sapnap’s weight on him.

“Can you give me a go?” Sapnap sounds excited, so Quackity nods, shoving the other of off him. He might be more tired than he anticipated from pulling Karl into the sky, but he would do anything for his boyfriends.

He froze halfway through brushing the snow off of himself and straightening his feathers out. Boyfriends? Where in the seven circles of hell had that come from, he shakes the thought off, feeling his cheeks begin to darken if he thinks about it too much. He turns to Sapnap who is all but jumping in place, seemingly eager to go flying.

Quackity jumps into the sky, swooping low to grab Sapnap under his arms. He brings them higher into the sky, coasting along as Sapnap looks down at the landscape below. He can see Karl running along below him, waving up at them as he looks up. He watches as Karl stumbles and trips, landing face first in the snow. He laughs once he sees Karl’s head pop back up, face surprised and offended, he jumps back up, not even bothering to brush the snow off of himself before running after them again.

Quackity tightens his grip on Sapnap, who seems to realise what he’s about to do as he begins to grip at the arms over his chest. With a grin Quackity tucks his wings, beginning his free fall towards the earth. He aims for slightly left of where Karl is stood, not wanting to land right on top of him as he doesn’t seem to be moving.

He gets to where he can make out individual blades of grass poking up from the snow before he snaps his wings out, narrowly missing hitting Karl in the face as he does so. He lands, bending his knees to soften the impact. He lets go off Sapnap and proceeds to fall over on the ground. Face first.

He just feels embarrassed if he’s being honest. He doesn’t feel like rolling over, so he doesn’t, laying first face in the snow, allowing Karl and Sapnap to pull him up. He has frost in his hair and eyebrows, beanie still back in their room. He blinks the snow out of his eyes, watching as Karl begins to laugh at him. He blinks once, twice, then shakes his head, rather like a dog. He flicks some snow onto Karl and Sapnap. His wings shake themselves out too, spattering them all with clumps of snow.

Sapnap recoils from the snow as if he’s been hit, obviously disgusted by his actions if the look he sends Quackity is any indication. Karl just shakes himself off, similar to the way Quackity had, but as more of a full body shake, more like what a dog would do. Which makes sense he supposes. 

He feels Sapnap begin to pull him up, still extremely warm despite being out in the cold for who knows how long. Speaking of time, he looks up to the sky, noticing the clouds had grown heavier and darker, meaning the snow would begin to fall soon. He didn’t want a repeat hypothermia incident, so he begins to gesture back towards the house.

“We should probably head inside, I’m tired and it looks like there’s about to be a small snowstorm.”

“Since when did you become an expert on snowstorms?” Quackity chuckles at that, he had been drawn to a book on winter climate the day before they had shown up. It had detailed how to look out for snowstorms and blizzards, there was extra information on what could happen if you stayed out in a snowstorm, hypothermia. The ways to recognise and treat it. He supposes that was when his ‘power’ began to show up. He still didn’t know if it was him being lucky or something else.

Before Karl had returned, he hadn’t believed in the supernatural and the mysterious, writing it all off as some kind of science, the books he has been pulled to and Karl’s own story disprove that. He shoves it away, returning to the conversation Karl and Sapnap were having over his head as they pulled him back to the house.

He let himself be pulled, not feeling much energy for anything as they walked up the stairs and into the house. He jolted upwards as he felt the hook sink into his brain, forcing his feet over to the bookshelves lining one wall of the longue. He didn’t even bother to take his boots off, leaving small half-melted clumps of snow behind on the floorboards. He ignored Techno’s warning look and Phil’s disapproving one, walking over to the frankly massive personal library Techno had. It had literally everything you could ever want to read.

He felt the hook pull him over to the right, guiding his hand up and closing it around the spine of a medium-sized book. He pulls it off the shelf, bringing it down to his height and reading the title, ‘Life in the Depths of the Ocean’. It seemed like a boring science one, but he walked over to his small nook, pulling his boots off as he sat down, placing them to one side as he curled up beside the fire. He flicks the book open, reading the introduction quickly before moving onto the main part of the book.

He became absorbed in his reading, reading over the pages that stated how human life at the bottom of the ocean was possible, as long as we had trees or other such things to supply us with oxygen. Any hybrids, the book stated, with the ability to breathe in water would thrive there, being the most adapted to the high pressures of the bottom of the ocean.

It stated that over time, we would most likely evolve to grow shorter, not being able to grow as tall with all of the pressure on you. It explained the ins and outs of living at the bottom of the ocean, and Quackity was invested in picking up any and all information he could.

He only came out of his trance as his eyes hit the last line of the book, closing the cover and leaning back. He blinked, eyes feeling dry from looking at something for so long. He looked around, looking out of the window at the snow flurries, then to the people around him. He seemed to have been sat in Sapnap’s lap for a while, leaning back against the man’s chest. The man looks down at him as he shuts the book.

“I honestly do not know how you read that in an hour and a half, le alone how you understood it all. I didn’t know you liked science.”

“I don’t,” was his response, “I just read a book about the basics of it once and never forgot it.” Sapnap chuckled at that, shifting to the side, which was when Quackity realised he was running his hands over his wings, smoothing the feathers. He’s proud that he can allow someone to touch his wings, being so comfortable with Sapnap and Karl’s touch that he doesn’t always instantly register it.

He places the small novel down beside the time travel book that he had finished earlier in the day. He would normally return them to their places on the shelves, but he was comfortable, so he didn’t feel like moving. He settled further back into Sapnap’s chest, making himself comfortable as he closes his eyes, intending on going to sleep. That was before a plate was promptly placed in his lap, causing him to startle slightly, look down then back up at Techno.

He could have laughed, right in Techno’s face. The man was wearing a kiss the cook apron, not that he looked all that pleased about it. Phil was sat on the sofa, not appearing to have moved since Quackity entered the house over an hour ago. He looked down at the plate, it was very different from Phil’s cooking, who’s strength seemed to lie in broths and soups.

The plate that Techno had handed him had roasted vegetables and a small bit of bread to accompany it. Looking around, he realised that everyone else had a similar dish in front of them, a plate waiting on the table for Techno to eat. Techno does just that, pulling the apron off and discarding it on the floor before pulling a book out, reading whilst he ate. He saw Phil roll his eyes at the piglin hybrid, but he made no attempt to take the book.

Quackity began to eat the vegetables, enjoying the slightly charred vegetables, and quickly eating his bread once he’s eaten the vegetables. He didn’t even know that they had peppers and courgettes, the two tasting nice roasted. He thinks everyone else did as well, as there was no talking as they ate, only the occasional loud chew.

Quackity finished his food quickly, placing the plate on the side and leaning back, pushing himself into Sapnap’s chest. He stares at the fire, watching as the flames dance, allowing his mind to get sucked into the hypnotising movements. He watched them dance and twirl around each other, fading from orange into red, red back into orange then yellow. The flames consumed the wood, crisping it and turning it black, causing the wood to crinkle up.

He startles as someone pulls him up, relaxing when he realises it’s Karl. He follows after the man, back to their room and straight onto their bed. He doesn’t even bother t get changed before he lies down, tucking himself into the centre of the bed. He can feel two more get into bed, one on either side, so he spreads their wings across the both of them, allowing the darkness that had been hovering at the corner of his mind to swallow him.

…

He dreams of a slightly more solid tree, watching it from within a glass dome as it catches on fire, the flames spreading quickly.

He hears a triumphant shout, but he feels himself slipping away from the place, everything fading back into black as he is pulled away.

…

He wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a discord now!!!  
> Come join!
> 
> [Discord](https://discord.gg/JZhz4pybSG)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is officially my longest story now

He looks around the room slowly, reassuring himself of where he is. It’s still dark, the sun only just reaching light into the room. It casts an outline against all the objects in the room. He’s still curled up in the middle of the two. Sapnap has an arm thrown over his lower back, just underneath where his wings connect to his back. Karl is curled up on his other side, pressed against him, arm just below where Sapnap’s is. He feels safe surrounded by them, which he doesn’t fully understand yet, but he likes the feeling of safety it brings.

He settles down, pressing himself against the mattress and trying to go back to sleep. Karl curls up against him tighter, as if trying to make himself smaller as he shivers. Quackity twists his neck awkwardly to look down at where Karl is. The man shiver again, curling tighter in on himself as he shakes. He can’t see Karl’s face from where it’s buried in his side, but he can feel the steadily growing wet spot precisely where his face is.

He places a hand on Karl’s shoulder, stroking it to try and wake him up nicely. The man doesn’t wake up though, just curling in on himself even more, which just makes Quackity feel sad. He shakes his shoulder gently, causing Karl to gasp. He sucks in the quick breath, head darting up and looking around, before he makes eye contact with Quackity. The man’s eyes are sad, a few tears still slipping down his face, his ears drawn back. It’s a sad sight, and it makes Quackity feel sad, so he shifts onto his side opening his arms for Karl to curl into.

Karl does, pressing himself up close against Quackity as he covers him with one wing, positioning it so that it is over both of their heads, hiding them from view. He just holds Karl as the man cries, unsure as to why he’s crying or how to help him, so he does what he knows best, he comforts. He allows Karl to curl up in his arms and cry, hidden from the world by his wings, which slowly become more golden as the sun rises above the horizon and peeks into their room.

He feels Karl pull away from him slowly, watching as the man ducks his head and quickly swipes at his eyes, “Sorry,” Karl whispers, his words almost inaudible from how quietly he said it.

“What for?” Quackity whispers back, just as quiet. Karl looks up to him, eyes still slightly watery and red-rimmed from crying.

“For crying on you?” Karl sounds confused, as if Quackity’s confusion over his apology confused him. They both just stared at each other, confused about what the other was saying.

“You know you don’t need to apologise for crying? It’s alright, you know?” Karl sighs, glancing down and away.

“I just feel silly for crying,” He finally admits, curling back into himself more as he fidgets with the sleeves of his hoodie, pulling them over his hands and twisting the fabric. Quackity doesn’t know how to respond, unsure on why he was crying in the first place. He just waits for Karl to elaborate, which he does.

“I just, I feel bad, for, for allowing, all those people in that village to die,” he pauses, gathering his thoughts, “I just, I feel like I could have done more to help them, like I should have done more to help them. But I didn’t, I let them die.”

Quackity is not a very emotionally clever person, give him a complex maths problem and he would probably be able to solve it, a crying person who is blaming themselves for something beyond their control, he is absolutely clueless on how to help them. He just reaches out a hand and pats Karl’s head, right between where his ears are. He then moves his hand to the left, stroking a hand over one of Karl’s ears, rubbing it at the base. It seemed to bring some kind of comfort to Karl, who just lay there, sheltered by Quackity’s wing.

Sapnap was still asleep behind them, the man sleeps like the dead, not waking unless someone wakes him. He sleeps on, unaware of what is happening right beside him as the sun makes it way higher into the sky. He room is completely illuminated, Quackity’s wings a perfect golden, only a few stray feathers sticking up and ruining the otherwise perfect image.

Below the feathers Quackity is just stroking through Karl’s hair, rubbing it between his fingers and brushing it back and forth, only occasionally rubbing at the man’s ears. They flop over his hair, almost blending in with the brown of his hair. They’re almost folded in on themselves, in a similar way to a labrador’s ears. The ears fur is soft, the hair on them silkier than his hair. He strokes a hand through the man’s hair again, running his fingers through the locks as he soothes the man.

Him beginning to stroke his hair had seemed to work in comforting him, he reasoned it was similar to someone else grooming his wings, so he understood completely. As he stroked through his hair absentmindedly, he thought about other things. He thought about Karl’s guilt over the village, thinking of ways he could help Karl, it wasn’t his strong suit dealing with any kind of emotional turmoil.

He cast his mind to another topic, not wanting to dig himself into a mental hole he couldn’t get himself out of. He begins to focus on his current situation, more specifically his draw towards the books. He doesn’t want to even dive into the dreams topic, pushing that aside for another morning. He searched through his mind for any knowledge that he has on hybrids, coming up rather short. He’s not the most knowledgeable about his own species apart from the basics that most people know. He sighed, quietly, pretty sure that Karl had fallen back asleep and reluctant to wake him again, the sun may be up but that didn’t mean it wasn’t early. 

He almost jumped when he heard a voice in his ear, “How sweet.” He turned and glared at Schlatt, who’s semi-solid form was hovering over his head, staring down at how he was holding Karl in his arms.

“Those are some mighty fine words for a snitch,” he shot back, watching as Schlatt took an overdramatic offence to his words.

“I am no mere snitch, you must be mistaken for another ghost.” Quackity just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, and you definitely didn’t fuck off to another dimension because you got embarrassed at seeing me tackle someone to the floor.”

Schlatt slightly reddens at that, ears lowering down in embarrassment. “Maybe I just didn’t want to walk into an obviously sexually charged situation. And it doesn’t really help that the next time I came to find you, there were two people being weird, and having an openly emotional conversation whilst you ‘slept’ on one of them.”

“Oh no,” he pouts, mocking Schlatt as the other glares at him, “someone is embarrassed that he has emotions.”

“And what of it?” Which, Quackity can say is fair enough, emotions are a pain to deal with sometimes.

“Why did you choose to reappear now?” Schlatt flicks one ear, turning back to face him from where he had turned to stare out the window.

“I felt like I was needed here, my information is rather valuable after all.” Quackity frowns, wondering what knowledge Schlatt might feel the need to give him. He realised, “What do you know about hybrids, and not just the stuff everyone knows, the rare shit.” 

Schlatt frowns at him, looking him up and down, “You want plausible information or just everything?” 

“Everything.” Quackity just wanted any kind of explanation for the weird things. Schlatt nodded, turning his head to the side and watching him as he thought. He shifted slightly, a bit uncomfortable with the way he was being scrutinized, becoming extremely aware that he was sandwiched between two others, one of which was almost completely under his wing and curled into his side, the other with an arm loosely slung around his waist.

“Well, there’s obviously the hybrid instincts, most of which are the same for every hybrid, with a few exceptions, you know, safety in numbers and all that. The only exceptions I’ve heard of are dragon hybrids, which are so rare that you most likely wouldn’t find two alive at the same time.” Quackity found that sad, not knowing what that would feel like.

“Some hybrids, like end and nether origin ones, will have powers, like fiery boy,” he nods towards Sapnap, “over there can summon fire, and dragon hybrids can allegedly perform magic rituals and spells. Including ones to hide their status and keep themselves safe.”

He paused for a moment, as if debating with himself, “There are some other things, these however have never been proven, and any recorded cases have never worked out, the affected person generally escaping and concealing themselves.” Quackity’s interest was piqued looking at Schlatt for more information.

“Well, all hybrids have something they search for. It’s their hybrid side coming through, like Techno out there, he has a lust for blood from being half piglin. It’s a natural part of all of out genetic makeup. But,” he trailed off, “some may have something…more, than that, something that relates to the same sense but is more enhanced. These cases, recorded but never proven, have told of hybrids who gained powers of a sort from their instincts. Those that thirsted after blood gained almost supernatural strength, which allowed them to pursue after more blood. It makes me wonder whether Techno is one of those people. He could just be blessed by a god though, like your little boyfriend Karl.”

Gods? Quackity had never heard of any gods, plural ones at least.

“What do you mean by gods?”

Schlatt hummed, leaning in closer, “You’ve never heard of the Olden Gods?”

“No?” he wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing.

“Not many have, don’t worry about it. There are different gods, all ruling over different things,” he spreads his arms wide as if to emphasise how many there were, “they all have a different dominion, there’s one of war, the Blood God. He’s the most vicious from the stories, he demands a blood sacrifice before he bestows any power, but like any gods, they’re fickle. They like to give gifts, but in the most inconvenient way. The Blood God almost curses his followers, they constantly hear those they’ve killed, urging them to get more blood, demanding more sacrifice. You never win with gods.”

He glanced down to Karl by his side, wondering if it truly was a god that had bestowed their gift upon him, and if it was, was it a recurring thing.

“What about a god of knowledge? Or time?”

“The goddess of time is known as the Warped One, she is said to be incredibly complex, like time itself. She has no followers, just gifted. None I know of choose to follow her, wary of how time doesn’t pass in a linear sequence, reluctant to lose themselves in its coils.”

“What about knowledge? You didn’t answer that.”

Schlatt turns his eyes towards him, looking up and down him again, “There is no god or goddess of knowledge, there neve has been. The only thing that has a connection with knowledge is certain types of hybrids. The ones that have the ‘powers’, seem to be drawn to certain subjects. It’s even rumoured that they receive knowledge even in their sleep, seeing events that are to come. I don’t believe any of that is true though, the gods have books written about them, and instincts have been studied, showing the correlations. There is no evidence to support the ‘powers’ theory.”

Schlatt crosses his arms, obviously satisfied with the knowledge he has given him, folding his arms and reclining mid-air. Quackity just felt more confused, left with more questions than he started with. He brushed it off, considering the amount of light in the room, deeming it the right time to wake everyone else up. He shifts from Karl, withdrawing his wing and disturbing the other whilst doing so.

He blinks blearily up at him, clearing sleep from his eyes as he watches his hover over Sapnap. Quackity glances back to Karl, who looks slightly more awake, a grin spreading over his face as he watches Quackity lunge down to Sapnap.

He grabs him in the sides, digging his fingers in where he knows he’s ticklish. Sapnap screams. Loudly and right in Quackity’s ear as he leaps from the bed, getting his feet caught halfway and falling off of the bed.

Quackity and Karl laugh at him, watching as he just lays on the floor, face in the rug, legs still on the bed, in the same position he had fallen in. They all jump as the door bashes open, Phil rushing inside, his sword drawn. The enchantments make the blade glow, rippling over the dark netherite surface. Phil’s wings are ruffled and raised slightly, however, they lower when he enters the room and sees them all in various states of disarray. He takes one look at Sapnap on the floor, still in the same position with his neck twisted to look around at Phil. He sighs and sheaths his sword, turning and leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

He can hear Phil faintly shout something to Techno, “No, no, they’re fine, I think one of them was woken up in a less than nice way.” He hears Techno reply lowly, but he’s too quiet for him to make out the words.

“How the fuck did you scream that loud.” He rubs his ears, which are still ringing slightly from Sapnap’s scream.

“Practice,” Sapnap grins back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> join my discord!
> 
> [Discord](https://discord.gg/7gzqTy6xUJ)   
> 


	15. Chapter 15

Quackity pulled his boots on, preparing to leave the room, glancing up to make sure Sapnap and Karl are ready. Karl still looks a bit tired, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. He looks fine though, so Quackity follows after Sapnap out into the hallway and into the longue. When he enters the longue, he sees Phil and Techno both sat on the sofa, Phil grooming his feathers and only just started by the looks of it, most of them still ruffled. This reminds Quackity of his wings, he glances back at them to see Karl staring at them. Karl glances up and makes eye contact with him, gesturing to their small, tucked away, nook in the corner.

Quackity moves over to it, sitting down beside the unlit fireplace. He allows Karl to sit behind him, spreading his wings out for the man to go through. He stares at the bookcase, feeling a tug in his mind as he stares at them. He stands up quickly, ignoring Karl’s quizzical look as he walks over, searching the bookshelves quickly before pulling one out of its slot, moving back and sitting down. He spreads his wings open again, allowing Karl access to them to actually preen them. 

He’s glad for the help, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do the whole of his wings himself without any help. He brushes a hand over the cover, fingers feeling the texture of the velvet cover. It’s a blue, a nice blue, not cornflower, but not lapis. He thinks it’s somewhat mixed with a lime colour creating a colour similar to the ocean, but the dark water right at the bottom, the stuff that’s got sand all mixed up in it.

The cover is embossed with a picture of an egg, reading underneath different bird species. Wow, it’s almost as if his weird little intuition power thingy wants him to know more about birds, maybe he’ll even find out what kind of bird he is. He grimaces at his own train of thought, intuition power thingy? Was that really the best he could come up with, he sighs, this is worse than looking like he’s talking to thin air, he’s actually talking to himself. He flicks the cover open, completely skipping over the introduction, his fingers guiding him to the back of the book, towards the index page. It drags his fingers over page after page, the paper slightly discoloured, obviously an old book, one that hasn’t seen much use if the way the spine cracked when he opened it was any answer.

It drags him to the ‘D’ section, which makes him chuckle to himself, it guides his fingers down to the duck section, he reads the page number then lets his brain flick his fingers back to the page it stated. It’s slightly weird, his brain is the thing that controls all of his movements, but it feels like he is being pushed into the backseat, watching as his brain does everything for him. It comes to the page, his eyes roam over it, looking from one side to the next, over the illustrated images that showed the markings of each of the ducks. He flicked over a page, looking over more species of ducks, he flicked the pages until he got from the ducks into the swans. His brain came to a halt, everything fizzling to a stop.

His duck species was not in there. He knew that he was a duck, he literally had slightly webbed fingers and toes which helped him to swim faster, not as fast as Wilbur had, but the man had been a seal hybrid, he can’t really compete with that. The only one that his markings looked similar to was a marbled duck, but the colouration was completely off, his wings being a golden yellow rather than a brown with cream undertones.

He sighed, hook releasing his brain, slamming the book shut. Karl startles from behind him, he comes back to himself more, smelling food begin to cook and his wings in a neat order. Sapnap is nowhere to be seen but he can hear his voice floating out from the kitchen, accompanied by Phil’s. Techno is still sat where he was when they entered the room. Looking around, he realises the sun is much higher in the sky than it was when he sat down to read.

“I’m gonna go for a bit of a fly, be back soon.” He patted Karl on the head as he stood up. He walked to the door and out into the bitter air that nipped at his exposed ears. He didn’t even bother to walk off of the porch, taking to the skies in one leap and being high above the house within a few seconds. He coasted around, enjoying his time high up and relishing in the wind against his skin. He can’t remember when he stopped flying, but he didn’t realise how much he had missed it until he was back in the air.

He twirled around in the air, barrel rolling to one side, plummeting a bit then swooping back up, just generally enjoying himself as he flew around in the air. He let the air currents carry him wherever they felt like, ignoring how far he was moving away from the house. He made sure to stay in the tundra though, not daring to leave in case anyone was looking for him. He didn’t feel like getting shot out of the sky again.

He flies higher, up into the space above the clouds where non-Avians begin to struggle to breathe. He draws in a breath of air, relishing in the way the cold hits the back of his throat, throwing his arms and wings out as he hovers there, watching the soft and white expanse below him. The clouds are thick enough that he can’t see anything below them. He swoops down, running one had through the clouds and parting them as he dips lower. He flies through the clouds, right in the middle of them, not caring if his clothes got slightly damp.

He flies in the middle of them, back to the house. He draws closer, the house’s features coming into focus. He narrows his eyes at the figure stood a few feet in front of the house. He plummets down onto the roof from the clouds, hoping they don’t see him and sighing when they give no indication. He looks them up and down, they look familiar, but he can’t quite place it, the person dirty and their clothes ragged and torn in places, burnt in others. He looks closer, and sees the hair under the hat the person was wearing was actually blonde, but just so covered up too well to be recognisable as the original colour. The person is wearing an old trenchcoat and Quackity thinks he knows who that belongs to as well, the massive ragged hole in the back being a giveaway.

With a sinking feeling in his gut, he begins to realise who it is. He takes off from the roof, landing in front of him, disturbing the snow into small flurries and making him jump. They look at him in surprise, eyes widening even further when they take in the wings attached to his back. He self-consciously tucks them tighter against his back, not wanting to draw attention to them. The feathers begin to ruffle up slightly as his gaze doesn’t leave them. Apparently getting the message, they look away, back to the house in front of them.

“What are you doing here Big Q?” His voice is hoarse and quiet, seemingly from disuse, which surprises Quackity, he doesn’t think he’s ever known them to be quiet.

“I live here?” They whip their head around at that, shock passing over their features. “You, live here,” he pointed to the house, “at the house that belongs to Technoblade.”

“Yes? I don’t understand why you’re so confused.” They sputter a bit, “He literally set two withers on us.”

“Yeah, and he gave me a place to stay after you got exiled Tommy.” Tommy just stares at him, seemingly having a small crisis on the inside. Quackity doesn’t have time for this, grabbing his arm, but snapping it back as if he had been burned when Tommy flinches away from him. Okay, that is definitely new, everything about Tommy is off. He’s quiet, he’s flinching away from touch and he seems to be in pain, shifting from one foot to the other.

“Do you want to come inside? It’s rather cold out here and you aren’t really dressed for the weather. I doubt Techno would want a repeat incident.” He heads up the steps, shaking a few flakes of snow from his wings and stamping his boots before walking inside, Tommy following behind him. There’s no one left in the longue, but there is a freshly lit fire, which he sits Tommy in front of after taking his boots off.

“Wait there,” he instructs, “I’ll be right back.” Tommy just nods numbly, shifting closer to the fire in attempt to warm up. Quackity takes the hallway back to their room, snagging some of Karl’s clothes, figuring the man wouldn’t mind too much. He’s pretty sure they’re the only clothes that might fit Tommy anyway. He returns to the longue, handing Tommy the clothes and turning around for him to change.

“You know, Big Q, you never did explain the fucking wings growing out of your back or the fact that you’re living here with Techno.”

“Funny story, had these wings my whole life. The whole living with Techno thing? I just came here after you got exiled and said I hated the government, I mean, I do.” At Tommy’s confused noise he continues, “The whole cabinet tried to shoot me down, Tubbo was the one that hit me.”

“Oh, that sounds bad.”

“It was, it was a weakness arrow too.” He turned around, Tommy wincing in sympathy as he sits back down next to the fire, his old clothes discarded in a slightly damp pile, but still wearing the trenchcoat. Quackity wasn’t going to judge though, the boy obviously brought some kind of comfort from the coat. Tommy settles himself in their nook, which makes his hybrid half protest slightly, but he ignores it, more focusing on the sounds of breakfast finishing up in the next room over.

He stood awkwardly in front of Tommy, wings slightly spread to hide him from view as Sapnap and Karl entered the room. They stopped their conversation to stare at him, probably wondering what he was doing.

“You okay there Quackity?” They didn’t even sound concerned, just worried, probably for his mental state.

“Yes.” At the doubtful looks he received he cringed slightly. “What are you hiding Quackity?” Karl takes a step forward, causing Quackity to flare his wings out even more, wanting to ensure Tommy’s safety before he did anything else.

“You gotta promise not to be mad.” At Karl, then Sapnap’s nods he slowly tucks his wings behind him, stepping to the side to reveal the child sat in their small corner. Tommy’s eyes widen and zero in on both Karl and Sapnap, looking between them, then sighing.

“I’ve got to say, you two were not the people I was expecting,” he turns to Quackity, “is this just a home for anyone that stumbles across it.”

“No, they got hypothermia from wandering around in the middle of a snowstorm and busted our door open. They just never left.”

“You say that like you want us to leave.” He looked back to Sapnap, who was now standing beside Karl, both a lot closer than last time he had looked at them. Karl was leaning up against Sapnap, pressed against his side.

“Move your ass Tommy, that’s my corner.” He doesn’t even bother to reply to Sapnap, intent on booting Tommy out of where he’s sat so he can sit there. Tommy gets up without complaint, plopping himself down in Phil’s usual armchair. He’s surprised at the lack of argument for Tommy but settles himself down in the corner anyway, pressing up against a pillow, being mindful of his wings, and pulling one of his fiction books off of the side table. He feels Sapnap sit down beside him, bringing the warmth he always does with him. Karl sits down in his lap, obviously choosing him for the day. He curls one arm around Karl, holding the man around the waist and opening his book at the last page he read, beginning to read.

He hears a small splutter from across the room and looks up to see Tommy just sat there, staring at the three of them across the room. He quirks an eyebrow at him, gesturing for him to speak his mind. Tommy huffs, moving over to the bookshelf and pulling a few books out at random. Quackity rolls his eyes and returns to his reading.

The next time he looks up is when Techno and Phil enter the room, Phil almost dropping the logs he’s carrying, staring across the room at Tommy as Tommy stares back. Him and Sapnap watch, wondering how it will go, Karl had already fallen asleep against Quackity, warmed by the fire and Sapnap. He watches as Phil squints at Tommy.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear a hat.” He sounds suspicious, Tommy just shifts in his seat, angled awkwardly with his knees tucked under him at an odd angle, trenchcoat completely covering his lower half. He watches as Phil marches over, Tommy seemingly realising what he’s about to do, as he clutches his hat to his head, gripping as Phil tries to yank it off. Phil wins, the older being stronger than the malnourished teenager. He pulls the hat off of Tommy’s head to reveal a small pair of ears twitching on top of the boy’s head.

He hears Sapnap suck in a quiet breath next to him, thankfully not drawing attention to them. He didn’t want to get in the middle of their ‘family discussion’. It seemed that Techno didn’t either as he moves over to the fire, stacking logs beside it for later use. He then moves back and grabs Phil’s discarded pile, stacking those too. When he turns back to the conversation Phil is trying to get him to take off Wilbur’s coat.

“Take it off, I need to see what you’re hiding under there, because I know you’re hiding something, your reluctance tells me everything.”

“I shouldn’t have to,” Tommy’s voice is raised above a normal speaking tone for the first time since Quackity saw him today, he’s almost shouting at Phil, “it’s none of your fucking business and all of mine, you’ve barely been there for me. I don’t owe you shit.”

Sapnap stands up then, staring Phil down and warning him away. The man stalks to the kitchen, feathers ruffled in annoyance. Quackity stands too, shifting Karl slightly to allow him to pick him up. Sapnap walks down the hall, Tommy trailing behind him as Quackity follows, Karl in his arms. The man is still asleep, curled up against his chest as he carries him.

They enter their room and Quackity sits in the bed, settling Karl back into his previous position of in his lap. Sapnap shuts the door behind them, sitting down on the rug beside the bed, right beside where the sort of entrance to the nest was. Quackity was sat just inside, legs crossed and knees right by the edge of the mattress. Tommy sits down, opposite Sapnap and a few inches to the left of Quackity and Karl.

“Now,” Sapnap starts off, his voice gentle, “you don’t have to tell us anything, but I could tell you were uncomfortable and thought you would rather come and have a bit of privacy. You don’t owe us anything, but all of the people in this room are hybrids, so we understand what you’re going through, you can feel free to tell us.”

Sapnap does a better job of reassuring Tommy than his pseudo-father does. That says a lot about Phil and Tommy’s relationship, the picture he’s putting together isn’t a great one, Tommy had never seen Phil past the age of five until he showed up and killed Wilbur, if Schlatt was anything to go off of, the man whispering in his ear as he watches Sapnap gently speak to Tommy. He swats at where he is beside his ear, wanting to focus on the conversation between the two in front of him.

“I, uh, I.” He pauses, “It was during my exile,” he admits, looking away, his ears slightly drooping. “I didn’t want Dream to know, he would probably do something, so I just hid it, then Dream blew the whole place up, as if taking all my stuff everyday wasn’t enough. He said I deserved it, that it was a lesson, so I left.”

He looks back, Quackity feels sorry for him, growing in any kind of trait is harsh, it was even worse that Tommy had to go through it alone. He also wanted to punch Dream, and from Sapnap’s face, he came to the conclusion he wouldn’t mind punching him in the face either. They hadn’t been on very good terms when Quackity had left, he can’t imagine what it’s like now. He feels himself soften in sympathy, watching as Sapnap spreads his arms out, an invitation if Tommy wants to take it. The boy does, barrelling into Sapnap and hugging him tightly, as if he hasn’t had any human contact in weeks. He distantly realises that he probably hasn’t, not any positive touch at least if the faded bruises on his face were anything to go by.

Sapnap hold him close, rocking the boy as he begins to sob into his shoulder, just pulling him closer and whispering comforting phrases in his ear as he cried. He soothed the boy until he fell asleep, crying himself out as Sapnap held him close in a hug.

As he falls silent, Sapnap looks up to him, worry shining clearly in his eyes.

“You know,” he starts, “I was thinking about building our own house. We could let Tommy stay too, I wouldn’t have thought he would want to stay with those two after that little show.”

Sapnap’s eyes light up, seeing the escape they could create for the boy who had cried himself to sleep in his arms. Quackity grinned at his enthusiasm, beginning to lay out the plans for their house, he had seen a nice cliff face they could build into nearby, far enough away from the house, but still close enough, just in case.

He laid out all the thoughts he’d had for a small house, Sapnap eagerly adding onto his ideas. As Tommy sleeps a long, striped tail curls around him, both pretended not to notice it, not wanting to go beyond Tommy’s boundaries.

Quackity thinks a raccoon suits him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just think it would be sweet okay, phil is cool but he is not a good dad.
> 
> [My Discord](https://discord.gg/7gzqTy6xUJ)


	16. Chapter 16

Quackity shifts from side to side, trying to move Karl off of him so he could get up without waking him. It hasn’t been going well so far and he’s pretty sure he’s more stuck than he was when he started. He couldn’t quite remember when he fell asleep, but Tommy’s curled up on the rug by the bed and Sapnap is leaning up against the bed, head tilted backwards and mouth slightly open. His back is going to hurt like a bitch when he wakes up. 

He manages to wiggle one arm free, pulling himself out from underneath Karl with it as he scooches across the bed and steps down onto the floor. He stands up, ruffling his feathers as he shakes his wings out. He yawns, jaw cracking as he stretches his arms above his head, blinking a few times in rapid succession to wake himself up.

He looks around the room for wherever he had discarded his boots before remembering they were left at the front door the previous day when he brought Tommy in. He shrugs it off, walking around the room to check on Tommy. He is greeted by two eyes staring up at him from where Tommy is curled up on the rug. They make eye contact, causing Tommy to jolt upwards. Quackity takes one step back, wings slightly flaring out in his surprise, he had not expected him to be awake yet, neither for him to have that reaction to him seeing he was awake. He waits for Tommy to sit up, wary of approaching and startling him again.

He watches as he sits up slowly, not breaking eye contact with him the whole time, as if wary of what Quackity would do if he looked away for a single second. He stands up slowly, coat falling down past his knees as he rises up. Quackity can see his tail poking out from underneath, slightly curled around himself, as if it’s a form of protection.

“Do you want some food?” He doesn’t know what else to offer other than a hug, but he doesn’t want to push Tommy’s obviously sensitive boundaries by stepping into his personal space. He just watches as Tommy nods slowly, as if hesitant to take something from him. Quackity turns and walks out into the hallway, through the still dark house. He moves into the longue, making sure he doesn’t look at the bookcase, just in case he becomes drawn to it. He moves through, hoping that Tommy is still following him as he enters the kitchen. He sticks his head into the pantry, looking over the shelves filled with dry food. They had quite the stash here it seemed. He pulled out a loaf of bread and a tin of tomatoes. He pulls a pan out from where they sit, trying not to make too much noise as he puts it on the stove and tips the can in.

He toasts the bread, buttering the slices and placing them on a plate. The tomatoes have warmed up, the sauce they sit in slightly bubbling, which Quackity takes as his cue to bring it off the heat. He does so, making sure to turn the gas off as he puts a bit of the contents of the pan on each slice of toast. He can’t remember who showed him tomatoes on toast, but he does know that he likes it, and that it’s warm, so he eats it. He turns around to find Tommy stood in the centre of the room, just beside the table, hands gripping the back of one chair. Quackity places one plate down in front of Tommy before sitting down and placing the other in front of himself. He passed Tommy a knife and fork, unwilling to get tomato sauce all over himself. Tommy sits down, slowly pulling the chair out as if he were scared Quackity would tell him off for it.

Quackity begins to eat his food, gesturing for Tommy to do the same. He hadn’t given him as much as he had himself, knowing that he was malnourished and if he gave him too much, he would be sick. He didn’t want to do that, so a smaller portion it was. Tommy ate his food slowly, only chewing when Quackity isn’t watching, as if he’s not meant to be seen eating. Quackity turns his head away from Tommy, averting his gaze to make him feel more comfortable eating. He sits and stares at the ceiling as Tommy finishes his food, wordlessly taking both of their plates to the side and gesturing for Tommy to follow him back into the room.

He shivered, slightly cold. He moved over to the fire, stacking a few logs on top of the charcoal from yesterday’s fire, stacking them in a criss-cross formation with a few bits of balled up paper to start the fire. He reaches for the matches on top of the mantel, pulling one from the pack and lighting it. He sets the small flame against a few pieces of paper, watching as they catch fire and begin to curl in on themselves, blackening at the edges. He sits back on his heels and watches as the flames take to the wood, crackling across the dry timber as it catches fire.

He turns around, dusting his hands off and replacing the match box on the mantel. He doesn’t expect to come face to face with a trembling Tommy, who is stood watching him with a small amount of fear. He’s curled his tail around his legs, probably a comfort thing, he realises now. He cocks his head at Tommy, unsure what is making the boy nervous. He looks around the room, then looks Tommy up and down, taking note of the scorch marks before turning back to the fireplace, more importantly the small box of matches that innocently sat on the mantle.

He turns back, unsure of what to do. “Sorry?” His apology comes out weak sounding, his voice breaking halfway through. He opens his arms to Tommy offering a hug, not expecting the boy to take it. When Tommy practically fell into his arms, shaking like a leaf, he just held onto him, allowing the boy to find a solace in his embrace. He brought his wing around on one side to shield Tommy from anyone who might enter, but leaving the other one tucked away to avoid him feeling claustrophobic. Tommy just kept holding on, and he was putting a lot of weight on Quackity, and wow, he might be skinny but he’s tall. He drags them both over to his small corner, sitting down and allowing Tommy to lean up against his side. He sits there, allowing himself to be a comfort to Tommy as the fire roared beside his ear.

“Hey Big Q?”

“Yeah?” He kept his voice soft.

“Where’s your hat gone?”

Quackity hadn’t even realised he wasn’t wearing his hat when he stepped out of the room, used to not needing to wear it to hide anymore, everyone here already knew.

“I don’t feel the need to hide anymore.” It’s the only response that he can think of, and it seems to give Tommy something to think about because he quiets down after that, becoming lost in his thoughts. Quackity grabs a book off the table next to him, deciding to read to pass the time. He makes it through four chapters before Sapnap and Karl are entering the room, Karl looking significantly more tired than Sapnap does, practically being dragged along from clinging to Sapnap’s hoodie. He gives them a small wave, moving his wing slightly to show where Tommy is sat. Sapnap coos at how he’s curled into his side, he seems to have fallen back asleep. He recovers him with his wing, sheltering him with the golden feathers.

“Have you spoken to him about what we were discussing last night?” Quackity shook his head, turning to Karl when he shoots them both a confused look.

“We were discussing building our own house, I saw a nice cliff face we could build into near to here, we discussed asking Tommy to come with us. He just…doesn’t seem comfortable here, around his family.”

“Oh.” Karl yawns again, making his way over to Quackity before dropping down onto him, he snuggles himself up against Quackity, ignoring Tommy’s sleepy protests. Quackity rolls his eyes, just tucking one wing more firmly around Tommy and allowing Karl to cuddle into his chest. He holds the man with an arm around his back, pressed firmly up against him as he discards his book in favour of stroking through Karl’s hair.

He watches as Sapnap moves through to the kitchen, disappearing through the doorway but re-emerging quickly, a large sheet of paper and a pencil in hand. He holds the pencil out to Quackity, who takes it, watching in confusion as Sapnap spreads the sheet of paper out in front of him. Sapnap looks up at him expectantly, which Quackity doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know what he’s meant to be doing with the pencil or the paper. Sapnap sighs, “Can you draw the cliff face you saw out, I want to be able to see the potential ways we could design the house to fit into the landscape. Quackity stares at him a moment longer, still slightly confused before setting pencil to paper and beginning to sketch it out, as accurately as he could.

The cliff itself was around the corner, out of view of the cabin, so it would be secluded, and away from the prying eyes of Phil. After the argument yesterday Quackity doesn’t feel as safe around the man as he once had, he hadn’t really seen the man’s parenting techniques, only hearing from his children how bad it had been. He hadn’t really expected the man to react to Tommy like that. He finishes his sketch, sitting back from where he had leant forward over the paper. Sapnap twists it around so it’s facing him, looking over the sketch he made before beginning to sketch over the top of it.

Quackity watched in awe as the image came to life under Sapnap’s hands. He watched a building grow out of the side of the cliff, watching as the roof and the stairs formed. He didn’t know how Sapnap did it, he wasn’t great at planning buildings, normally just shoving a few blocks together and hoping for the best. He watched as Sapnap drew a cross section of the house and the cliff, displaying how it would extend into the cliff itself, allowing the natural area to insulate their house. Sapnap built a fireplace in. As he watched the building develop his fingers began to itch to build it, wanting to get started on it as soon as he could.

Sapnap began writing down the side, creating requirements for materials, labelling where the materials would fit into the design. As he watched Sapnap create the list he took note of the materials in highest demand, noting down the numbers in his head and turning over how much of each resource he had. Within his first week at the cabin, before Sapnap and Karl arrived, he would spend a lot of time collecting resources, making his own armour and tools, maxing out their enchantments. In that time, he also collected a lot of materials, most of which were stored in his room. He had pretty much all of the materials except for the dark oak logs, but he knew where a nearby forest was.

He tapped Sapnap on the arm enthusiastiacally.

“I have most of those materials, all we need is some dark oak logs, and I know where a forest is. We could probably build it today.” His voice rose as he progressed into his sentence, rousing Tommy and Karl from their impromptu naps. Sapnap stared back at him in glee, eyes beginning to light up as he realised they could build it that day, move in that day as long as they dug into the cliff.

“Oh my god,” he breathed, “let’s go, let’s go. We should go get everything, move to now.” He begins to tug on Quackity’s arm, pulling him up, causing Karl to slide off his lap and Tommy to flop over, still grumbling. Karl stood up, stumbling slightly before Quackity steadied him. Tommy lay face down on the floor, allowing himself to be pulled up by Sapnap.

“How would you feel about moving?” Tommy just blinked at him, eyes still slightly glazed over from sleep. He didn’t seem to be processing Sapnap’s words, just being pulled along as the man chattered at him about the house they were building. Quackity was already grabbing most of his items out of his chest, storing the ones he couldn’t pick up in his enderchest. He picked that up too, tucking it away in his inventory as the other three went around picking stuff up. Tommy just picked up the hat he had been wearing when he arrived the stood in the middle of the room. He watched as Sapnap took all the blankets from the bed, shoving them all in his inventory and hoping that they would fit, they did, thankfully.

Quackity grabbed Tommy by the arm, glad that he didn’t flinch this time, and gently pulling him out of the room. He pulled him towards the front door, where he handed him his trainers, having no other shoes to give him, as he pulled his own boots on. He pulled his coat from the hook, tucking it around his shoulders and slotting his wings through the gaps in the back. He looks over the remaining coats before grabbing one of Techno’s spare ones, draping it over the boy before pushing the door open and stepping out into the cold. Tommy followed, the both of them just standing on the porch as they waited for the other two to arrive. When they did, he stepped off in the direction of the cliff, away from the front of the house and into the tundra beyond. He strode through the snow with a confidence, leading them as they trekked towards their new home, or well, it would be their home, soon.

He arrived at the base of the cliff, the massive rocky formation towering above him, jagged in some places, smooth in others. He placed his enderchest down, pulling out a few regular chests and dumping his stuff in them, he allowed the others to follow suit. He watched as Sapnap compared his sketch to the cliff, making a few adjustments as he took in the real thing. They had chosen to build on a corner, there were two cliffs that converged on one another, creating the perfect spot to create a house, but still keep it hidden. He watched as Sapnap marked out the boundaries of the house, giving each of them instructions on what to do.

He chose himself and Tommy to do the outside, he let Quackity and Karl mine the inside portion out. Quackity didn’t mind, he had several pickaxes with efficiency enchants. He tossed one to Karl, who caught it. He began to mine out the instructed area, chipping away at the stone with a high speed, breaking chunk after chunk in rapid succession. He carved out the central room, placing it about halfway up the cliff face, having to fly to start himself off, before being able to balance on the ledge, then make his way into the room. It was domed at the top, causing the walls to curve, he hoped to put some bookshelves in here, or even create a library, he wanted one bigger than Techno’s, he knew he could collect books from the local village, they got a new shipment every week.

He also planned on setting up a similar thing to what Techno had going on his basement, but more humane, he would make it a communal area, with beds, rather than a small one by one square for them to live out their lives in. he finished smoothing out the walls, glancing out to see that Tommy and Sapnap had created a sturdy foundation, the stone bricks lining the bottom floor of the house, the outside already built up. It didn’t have a roof or sides yet, but it was decent for, he looked to the sun, a few hours. He jumped out of his carved-out room, gliding over to where Karl was meant to be mining out their room. It was a rather large room, with planning to have a similar sized room for Tommy in the same area.

As he entered the room he heard a strange ticking sound, shaking it off as some kind of sound bouncing off of the walls of the cave. He walked to the back, where he could see Karl’s bright hoodie. He could see the man, but he was bent over, breathing harsh. He hurried closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Karl shuddered violently, turning to look at him with wide, panicked eyes. His eyes darted over Quackity’s face, as if searching for something.

“I, I don’t know what to do.” His voice sounded rough, Quackity’s eyes widening as Karl raised his hand, showing him how it had to begun to fade. The ticking seemed more obvious now, as did the tiredness he had displayed for the whole day.

“It’s, it’s gonna be okay, okay?” Quackity didn’t know what to do, grabbing Karl’s semi-solid hand, dragging him to the front of the cave. The ticking seemed to get faster as his heart raced.

“Sapnap?” his voice was loud, carrying over to where the man was stood, causing him to look up, concerned from the worry in his voice. He raised Karl’s hand, willing his fingers not to phase through it. He watched as Sapnap’s eyes widened. He knew what that meant too.

“Quackity,” he turned to Karl, holding tightly onto him, willing himself not to let go, listening as the ticking became faster and the time around them began to slow.

“I’m not letting go,” he promised, he wasn’t going to, even if something tried to separate them. Karl grabbed onto him, holding onto him as he began to shake even more, trembling violently. Quackity held on, hearing as Sapnap and Tommy’s voices became distorted, as if he were hearing them from underwater. He looked up, then back down at himself, watching as his hand began to fade too.

He listened as the clock began to chime. It hit twelve, he felt himself dissolve, Sapnap’s cries melting away from his hearing. He felt himself begin to fall, holding onto Karl as he plummeted through the abyss of darkness. He tried to spread his wings, pull them out of wherever they were. They felt as though they were made of lead, unable to lift their weight and causing them to plummet faster. He squeezed Karl tightly as his senses told him they were close to the ground. He closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

…

He woke up, watching a transparent tree catch fire again, he blinked, and he was gone, waking up on a sunny beach, Karl lying on top of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Discord](https://discord.gg/7gzqTy6xUJ)


	17. Chapter 17

He sat up, brushing sand off of his clothes as he did so, shaking out his wings and spraying small grains of sand everywhere. Karl rolled off of his chest, landing in the sand with a small thud. He groaned, bringing his face up from the sand and spitting a mouthful out. Quackity was busy combing through the feathers, trying to get the small, remaining pieces of sand out from between the feathers. The pieces that remained were uncomfortable, making his skin itch and his feathers twitch in irritation. Karl shuffled up onto his feet, slightly sinking into the sand as he moved.

He shook himself off, spraying Quackity with sand, causing him to look up in annoyance, squinting at where Karl was stood, the sun slightly blinding him. Karl extended a hand, which Quackity took, allowing himself to be hauled to his feet. He tucks his wings behind his back, holding them close and keeping them out of the way. They both looked around, unsure of how to proceed. Karl pulled a book out of seemingly nowhere, beginning to write in it, feather quill scratching away at the parchment. He leans over his shoulder, reading as he writes, pulling away as he realises that it’s just a normal description of their surroundings.

He looks away again, squinting at what seems to be a small shack in the distance. He waits for Karl to tuck the notebook back into the folds of his cloak, before taking to the sky and snagging Karl under the arms, pulling him with him. Karl doesn’t make a single sound, holding onto Quackity as he flies, seemingly trusting him to keep them safe. He covers the distance in a few seconds, landing softly in front of the shack, setting Karl down as he tucks his wings back behind himself. He knocks on the door, the hinges squeaking as it shifts slightly open from his touch.

There is sand on the floor inside as he moves in, it crunching underfoot as he moves through the much bigger shack than he had thought. He moves from one room into the next, coming across four people playing cards together. He stares at them as they stare at him, one person’s hand extended over the table, card held firmly between the fingers, as if about to drop it on the table. He just stands there awkwardly as Karl comes up behind him, peering over his shoulder at the people inside. Quackity waved at them awkwardly, wanting to back away but Karl behind him preventing him from doing so. One stood from the table, the one who had been holding the card.

He walked over to them, looking them up and down as the orange tinted goggles on their head wobbled precariously, threatening to fall off. He seemed to not deem them a threat, turning his back on them and walking back to his card game. He throws himself back into his seat, throwing his card down on the pile, causing the other occupants to groan. One even went as far as to slam his head on the table, the grey cloth over their mouth slipping down slightly, revealing a nose. He pulls it back up, adjusting the green goggles on his eyes.

“Hello?” The one with a hat questioned, “Are we just not gonna question the people that showed up in here?”

“No, we’re not Benji, they haven’t attacked us yet, so we’re fine for now.” The one wearing a blue shirt responded, standing from the table. He moves over to the corner of the room, where a few packs seem to be piled, picking one up and slinging it over his shoulder. The others followed suit, making their way from the table to the bags, picking up one each. Each pack was a boring brown leather, a fishing rod sticking out of the top. It seemed they were fishermen, which made sense, they were by the sea. Quackity felt Karl move away from his back, seemingly distracted by something. He turned around, watching as Karl looked outside, head turning down before shooting back up and quickly swivelling around. He bent down and seemed to pick something up, holding it in his hands catiosuly, as if scared it would bite him.

Quackity made his way over to him, wings shuffling, wondering what had made Karl scared. As he got closer, he saw that it was just a book, but not the one that Karl had, this one was bound in white leather, a small, grey swirl decorating the front. There was no title, but it was obviously professionally made. Karl flicked it open, “Hello there.” He murmured under his breath, eyes skipping over the lines, “You don’t know me but I know you.”

“How ominous.” Both of them jumped at that, turning around to see the man with grey cloth, he should probably ask them for their names. “You write that?” the man questioned, nodding his head towards the book. Both of them shook their heads, glancing down at the book then back up to the man, watching as more people followed after him, seemingly done with whatever they were doing.

“You gonna read the rest of it?” he looked to Karl, the same question on his tongue. He sighed and flicked open the book, clearing his throat and glancing up at the gathered crowd before beginning to read.

“Hello There! You don't know me but I know you...Your lives may be boring now, but rest assured, it is time for you to start creating some "tales" to be remembered! There are many stories you may have heard of that have been passed down from generation to generation; and many are fables.... But some are true! It is time for you to take a look for yourself. There is a lost underwater city nearby that holds much truly valuable information of the history of this great world we live in. I implore you to seek it out! Who knows, maybe you'll find something you didn't know existed! P.S. This city's residence may have been MIA for quite sometime. Maybe they left behind some history themselves!” he paused for a second, “K.”

He looked up at Quackity, confusion creasing his brow, Quackity stared at him for a second, processing the information he had been given, K. The same letter that Karl’s name began with. He pushed it away, “Were there any coordinates for us to follow?”

Karl nodded, turning the book around to show them all the coordinates, someone pulled out a significantly better comm than Quackity or Karl had, tapping at the screen a few times. “I’ve got the location, it’s somewhere out in the ocean, past where we normally go fishing.”

The other fishermen seemed to take that as their cue, running down to the shore, rapidly discussing the possibilities of what the book could be alluding to. Quackity had gathered that they were somewhere in the future, the technology helping him to build that theory. Him and Karl followed after them, stepping onto the boat they seemed to be preparing to leave on. There were no complaints when they stepped on, so they took that as their cue to remain. The rocking of the boat under his feet slightly unsettled Quackity, unused to the feeling of water beneath him, so used to being able to glide through the air, far above the waves below.

The boat pushed away from land, the four fishermen expertly handling it, guiding it towards their destination. The land receded into the distance, the sandy beaches pulling away from his view. Him and Karl stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at where they could still see the land, if only slightly. Once it disappeared from view they turned and faced the direction they were heading in, watching as a small stone building came into view, appearing over the waves. Feeling more confident at the sight of something, he took off, shooting towards it as the boat lagged slightly behind him. He landed on the top of the stone, not folding his wings yet, circling the smooth rock, before finding a doorway and dropping down to it, using his wings to lighten his fall. He waved to the boat, indicating where to dock.

The boat pulled up beside him, Karl jumping off and running up to him, staring through the doorway as the fishermen dropped their anchor and jumped onto the small platform beside them. They moved inside as a group. Into a small room, there was only a chest and lectern inside, a book resting on the latter, both coated in a thick layer of dust. Quackity pulls the lid open as Karl moves over to the lectern pulling the book off. It’s a similar design to the first one, he flicks the pages open again. The hinges of the chest wail in protest as he pulls the lid up, dust floating into the air. He sneezed, wings puffing out behind him as he did so. He heard Karl chuckle, but ignored him, pulling out a small lever from the depths of the otherwise empty chest. Karl began to read the book, “The City of Mizu! An underwater city of beauty! Explore the lands and get up and close and personal with all your favourite characters from the Great Disc Wars! Be welcomed by smiling faces around every corner who all share one thing in common, there beautiful passion for timeless Tall Tales!” he finished the book, snapping it closed.

He blew the dust off of the lever, turning around with it in his hand. He looked around the room, spotting and iron door in one end of the room. He fixed the lever onto the wall next to the door, flicking it and causing the door to open. He gestured for the others to walk through. They stared at him, slightly distrustful, “What did you say your names were again?” Brown hat asked, Quackity just grinned.

“We didn’t.” They stood still for a second, as if debating whether this were some elaborate scheme to kill them, orange goggles apparently decided it wasn’t, pushing past his friends and through the door. The others followed behind him, Quackity and Karl following last. The door led to a small room with a ladder leading downwards. Two were already descending, the other two waiting at the top, staring down at their friends. It was only now that Quackity saw the small wings sticking out from the poncho face covering thing grey cloth was wearing. They were tiny, about as small as a bee’s wings, he would never be able to lift himself off the ground with those. They would flutter occasionally, showing off the off-white colouring and the yellow-ish tips.

They went down the ladder, one by one, emerging at the bottom in a glass dome, reinforced by pillars of stone. The ladder had been long, and it seemed now that they were at the bottom of the ocean. Quackity’s reading on deep sea living for humans, or humanoids considering him and Karl. The glass was obviously reinforced, but not insulated, it was cold. He was able to breathe, meaning there was a source of oxygen down here, he wondered what it was, and if it was secure. He looked around the room, jumping as he saw two mismatched eyes, yellow and purple, staring at him from the shadows. He nudged Karl with his elbow, causing him to look over to where he was staring, he startled too.

The person chose then to step out from the shadows, gold goggles sat on the top of his head, resting comfortably on his black and white split hair. He looked rather similar to Ranboo, he realised, the black and white pattern of skin slightly different from Ranboo’s, but similar all the same. He was well-dressed, suit fitting to his frame and creating an expensive aura. His tail swished behind him slowly, in lazy circles. The hybrid was relaxed, seemingly confident despite six strangers showing up where he was, he wondered if he lived here.

“It’s been so long,” the hybrid croaked out, “I’ve been so lonely.” They looked among themselves, unsure on how to respond.

“Uh, hi?” Karl sounded unsure, Quackity felt the same, shifting from foot to foot, his wings flexing, but remaining pressed up against his back. Quackity looked around the room more, taking a closer note of the small crimson patches splattered along the floor. He gulped, more intimidated than before, “Why is there so much blood?”

The hybrid hummed, “A lot of people have died here, I’m the only one that remains.” That was not good, at all. It didn’t reassure him that they weren’t currently stuck thousands of metres under the sea at his mercy. 

“My name is Ranbob, I look after the City of Mizu. It’s all I’ve ever done.”

“I’m Cletus,” grey cloth responded, finally giving a name for him to call him other than ‘grey cloth’.

The others gave their names, orange goggles being Charles, brown hat being Benji, and blue shirt being Isaac. They turned to him and Karl next, obviously expecting names.

“Oh, uh, my name is…Quentin.” He winced at his own name, why had that been the first to mind. Karl looked at him out of the corner of his eye, quirking an eyebrow slightly. “I’m Carlos.” He smiled, trying to charm the others. They seemed to dismiss him, turning back to Ranbob, beginning to pester him with questions of the city. He led them to a room he called the community room, it was a small room with a single table in it, it was below the room they arrived in, a twisting spiral staircase leading down to it. It looked rather sad and empty, littered with more splotches of blood. There were two corridors leading off from the community room, Ranbob took them down one labelled cafeteria. They walked down the short hallway and entered into a large area with three tables and a counter of sorts. He imagines food was stored behind there once.

Charles was stood inspecting one area behind the counter, the floor slightly different from the rest of the surrounding area. Quackity wished he had his tools on him, knowing he could easily mine through the suspicious chunk with his enchanted pickaxe. It seemed no one else had any tools on them either. There was nothing of interest in there, moving as a group back into the community room. He poked around the room a bit more, seeing if he could find anything. He hears Karl begin to call them over, making his way over to him he notices that he’s pulled up a loose tile, revealing a ladder beneath it. Quackity doesn’t wait to be prompted, hopping into the gap and shimmying down the ladder, jumping off as soon as he came into the next room.

This one had black tinted glass on the floor, they began to look through the chests again, it seemed to have become routine for them now, looking for anything that could help them discover more about the abandoned city.

…

Sapnap stared at the place where Karl and Quackity had been seconds before, dread pooling in his gut as he stares at the empty space. He hadn’t reached them in time, only able to watch as Quackity began to fade as well, transparency fading through his arms, spreading over his whole body until he looked the same as Karl. The clock chimed, and as it hit the twelfth chime, they winked out of existence. Sapnap stood and stared at the place they had been before, feeling himself drift further and further away from his body, the small cave sitting innocently in the side of the cliff. He felt Tommy’s hands rest on his shoulder, pulling him away from staring at where they had disappeared. He clenched his fist, willing himself to not immediately burst into flames.

He felt the need to set something on fire, but was unwilling to undo all of his and Tommy’s hard work. He dropped into the snow outside of the front of their house, watching as it melted under his hands and the grass withered, turning a yellow, then crisping into and ashy black. He felt Tommy lean up against him, head propped up by Sapnap’s shoulder.

“What was that?” His voice was small, scared sounding. He felt sympathy for the boy, he at least knew why they disappeared, and that they would most likely come back. Tommy, however, knew none of this, all he knew was that he had just watched Quackity and Karl disappear into thin air with no explanation, only being left with Sapnap to explain it. 

“Karl’s a time traveller,” he sighed, “it’s only happened once before, Karl disappeared several hundred years into the past at like, nine in the morning, and he reappeared at some point in the afternoon, stumbling from our room looking tired and hungry, as if he had been gone for days on end rather than a few hours.”

Tommy just looked more confused, ears flattening then unflattening, as if he’s switching quickly between emotions. His tail remains curled up by his side, wrapped around his leg, most likely some sort of comfort.

“Come on,” he stood up, extending a hand for Tommy, “there’s nothing we can do until they come back. We might as well try and finish the house for them.”

Tommy took his hand, allowing himself to be pulled up.

…

Quackity was sick of the stupid rooms, all the information being completely wrong, Ranbob acting more and more shifty the more rooms they entered, his long ears flicking about, as if listening to something they couldn’t hear. The most unsettling room was the unnamed room, he didn’t like that one of the members had been forgotten, there was no indication in any of the books they found, Ranbob unable to remember either.

The last room they entered had a tree in it, it was just as his book said, plants to provide oxygen on the ocean floor. It was a large glass dome, the tree large too, branches reaching towards the top, covered in lush leaves. They explore it slowly, moving around the bush lined room. They find another room key and spot a chest in the tree’s branches, securely tucked at the top. Ranbob is gone.

He feels uncomfortable, watching as Cletus makes his way up to the top of the tree, jumping from branch to branch, swinging between them and making the leaves shake, a few drifting down to the floor. Quackity sees Ranbob now, the man appearing behind Cletus as he stands at the top of the tree. He smells burning wood, looking to the base and seeing the bark on fire, the flames slowly inching their way up the tree, killing it. The smell of gunpowder fills the air, Ranbob jumping from the tree and teleporting mid-fall. They watch as the tnt detonates, Cletus being thrown backwards as it explodes in his face. His bloody form falls to the ground, landing with a dull thud.

They don’t step near it, knowing that he was dead already and not wanting to see it up close. He watches Karl scribble something down in his notebook quickly, tucking it away as if he had never been holding it. Isaac reads a book, discovering an emergency way out. They follow him blindly, running through the hallways in their panic. The room they enter is flowing with lava, small platforms fitted around the room, a chest above the lava, tucked away in a small nook. They watch as Benji leaps from platform to platform, his knuckles white with how hard he was gripping the edges. He makes it to the final jump, leaping from the platform.

They watch as his foot catches on the edge, causing him to flail as he hurtles down towards the lava. They turn away as his body hits the lava, the smell of burning flesh wafting through the room. He doesn’t scream. Isaac volunteers next, leaping with a new hurry from platform to platform, making it to the top safely, then back down, key in hand. They open the hidden doorway, all four of them moving through the hallway. They emerge into a mostly empty room, the only significant thing being a picture in the centre. Quackity feels his stomach drop as he recognises the smiling mask, Dream.

Ranbob emerges from the shadows, stalking over to them, grinning, his lips curling at the corners as his tail lashes. He’s dangerous, an aura radiating off of him that screams for Quackity to retreat. As he stares at him he swears he could see a green hoodie hovering behind him, smiling mask beside Ranbob’s long ear. He flicks his ear, as if Dream is truly whispering into it. He blinks and the illusion is gone. He shudders, wings puffing up as he stares at Ranbob.

“Everybody here, had an idol that they worshipped,” he began to monologue, pulling out a shining diamond sword as he does so, twirling it lazily, “that’s why the rooms were all themed, like, the idols from the past. And mine was Dream.” His grin seemed to stretch wider, and Quackity doesn’t think he’s ever been so afraid before, he knows Dream, he knows what that man can do. He can seem him right now, flickering in and out of sight as he stands behind Ranbob, a hand on his shoulder. He raises a finger to the mask’s smile. Quackity understands the warning.

“Was Dream a good man?” Isaac sounded scared, eyeing the blade that Ranbob was lazily tossing from hand to hand.

“Yes, yes he was a very good man. Depending on what you think, good is.” That was not reassuring, they moved away from Ranbob, closer to the picture of Dream and his grinning mask. 

“Nobody,” Ranbob draws a breath, seeming to fill himself with confidence, “nobody leaves here.” He leapt towards Charles, striking him down with accuracy, a blade right through the heart. He stabs Isaac next.

“Nobody lives here.” He grins, turning towards them, a splatter of blood bright against his skin. Quackity watches as Karl tries to tuck the book back away, fingers fumbling as Ranbob advances towards them. He knows they can’t win, he has Dream whispering in his ear. He turns towards Karl, wrapping him in a hug and sheltering him with his wings. He feels the blade go through his chest, leaving a gaping hole behind. He collapses, Karl following soon after him. Ranbob stands above them, the image of Dream flickering beside him as his sword drips with blood.

The darkness washes in, and he falls, Karl beside him.

He sees a white tree flash past them as he falls.

…

He wakes up in the cave, Karl heaving rapid breaths beside him. He can hear Sapnap shouting from far away. 

His vision begins to churn, swirling rapidly as Sapnap’s voice becomes muffled. He feels a heavy weight fall against him, bright colours under his face. The darkness pulls him back under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Discord](https://discord.gg/7gzqTy6xUJ)


	18. Chapter 18

Sapnap heard a small clatter from the caves as he finished constructing the side of the outer house. He turned towards it, wanting to call out and check on Tommy, before he noticed the boy staring at him from where he was constructing the other side of the house. Sapnap dropped what he was holding, running over the cliff and hauling himself up into the cave. He pulled himself over the edge, coming across Karl passed out on Quackity, who looked to be close to passing out too, eyelids drooping and head tilting forward.

“Quackity?” the man didn’t respond to him, “Quackity?” His voice became louder, trying to get him to respond to him, he tried a few more times, each time increasing the volume. He stopped when Quackity slumped forward, face falling onto Karl’s hoodie, he places a hand on Quackity’s chest, stopping his head from slamming into the floor.

He sat on the floor of the cave, holding Quackity up and staring at the two, they were both pale, their hair slightly damp and smelling strongly of salt. It seemed like they had been at the ocean, and had been in the ocean at some point. Tommy made his way into the cave, slowly, his tail slowly swishing behind him, long swift strokes. His ears twitched, eyes darting from side to side.

“I, uh, I set up a bed in the room that got finished, I thought you might want to, um, move them there?” he shrugs, as if unsure of himself, Sapnap just smiles at him, reassuring the boy.

“Thank you. Would you be able to carry Quackity for me? I can’t carry both.” Tommy nodded, moving and staring down at Quackity. He pulls him up by the arms, Quackity’s body limp against his. He shifts around slightly, trying to adjust Quackity to hold him more secure but seemingly unable to do it around the wings.

“You just hold right underneath the base of his wings, where the wings connect to his back, you can apply a bunch of pressure there and he’ll be fine.” He watched as Tommy cautiously adjusted his grip, which made him feel rather warm inside, it showed how much Tommy cared for him. They moved along the small hallway they had hewn out roughly, intending for it to be only for temporary use. They moved along quickly, wanting to get them into their bed as soon as possible, to allow them to rest better.

They entered the room, and Quackity had done a good job on it, the walls were done with wood, a large bed neatly tucked in one corner, the only missing things being the blankets and pillows that they had stolen from Techno’s house. He lay Karl down on the bed, watching as Tommy did the same. The boy disappeared quickly, exiting the room and heading away. Sapnap lets him be, curling up next to his boyfriends. He huddled close, focusing on the flame that burned within him, allowing it to spread through his gut and the rest of the body. He hoped it would warm them up, bringing them closer, him in the middle and Quackity and Karl either side of him. They both seemed to curl into his warmth instinctually.

Tommy came back after a few minutes, pulling blankets and pillows out of his inventory and dumping them onto the bed, leaving Sapnap to sort them out. He didn’t know how to craft the nest that Quackity had, so he just pulled the duvet over himself and tucked a pillow on his head, not needing to sort the other two out, allowing them to rest their heads on him and soak the heat from his body. They were both rather cold, shivering even as Sapnap exuded heat. He tipped his head back onto the pillow, feeling drained from a day of building and the worry for these two. He glanced out at the sun, which was slowly sinking towards the horizon. He called it a day, not wanting to be awake anymore. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep to overtake him. It didn’t take long.

…

Quackity was stood still, frozen in place, unable to move, feeling as though every limb of his body was bound. He was back in the City of Mizu, the hallways empty, Ranbob pacing through them. He was still rather drenched in blood, spatters on his face as he walked down the hallway, stride strong, his posture proud. He was pleased with himself. He walked down the corridor, away from Dream’s room, back towards the dome with the tree.

It was mostly untouched, the bark only slightly charred and a few branches missing, laying strewn about on the ground below. Ranbob stepped delicately among the mess, making his way over to the tree trunk. He brushed his fingers over the charred bark, brushing the charcoal away and revealing healthy wood underneath. It looked untouched, as if a fire hadn’t raced its way up the trunk before. He began to move the branches, shifting them with a strength he hadn’t displayed before.

Dream was stood on one side of the dome, watching as Ranbob cleared all evidence of his crimes, as if he had done it before. He realised that he probably had, luring people to the place then killing them, drawing them in with tales of greatness and fame. It had worked, but that didn’t mean that it was good or right. Dream stood and watched, his lime hoodie standing out against the backdrop of blue. The occasionally fish would dart past, making its way away from the dome.

Ranbob had finished his clear up, the tree looking pristine. Dream followed him as he moved around the rest of the city, speaking praises into his ear. Ranbob removed all the keys from the doors, replacing them where they had found them. He did it with an air of carelessness, as if he could do it without looking from the amount of times he had done it before.

He feels Dream look him dead in the eyes, mask turned to face him, smile plastered over the white of his mask. “We have a seer, Ranbob. He was not from this time, and he’s here, watching us.” Ranbob turned around, squinting in his general direction, as if he can’t see him. He can’t, he realises as he continues to look around, as if searching for something. He didn’t understand this, he had visited places in his dreams before, he had watched the tree catch fire days before he had seen it happen himself. He didn’t understand how he could be seeing something in the now. He jerked back as Dream paces to stand in front of him. He glances back to Ranbob.

“Kill him.”

Ranbob sends a sword through his chest, seemingly seeing him as he pulls it back out, grinning with a crazed smile. The one of a madman.

…

His eyes wrench open, his breathing fast in the darkness of his…bed? He feels warm and cold at the same time, shivering as he sweats from the heat. He realises that he’s pressed up against Sapnap, in a bed, in their new house. Sapnap is awake, that much is obvious as he stares down at him in the gloom, eyes slightly alight. He pulls his wings away from where they cover him, attempting to cool himself down. There’s a duvet drawn over him, just one, and his head is pillowed on Sapnap’s chest.

“You good there, Q?” Sapnap sounds tired, and he feels responsible, it couldn’t have been very relaxing to apparently build a house and worry over whether him and Karl were okay. He curls closer to Sapnap, seeking his warmth as he shivers, only to push him away as he felt a wave of heat pass over him. He sneezed, wings ruffling up as he did so, the action involuntary.

“’m fine.” His voice sounded slurred even to his own ears. His head falling back down on Sapnap’s chest as he was overcome with a sudden exhaustion, “’m jus, just tired.” He nestled his head in the crook of Sapnap’s neck, feeling the other begin to comb his fingers through his feathers, relaxing him further. He allowed himself to sink into the heat, only occasionally sniffing and sneezing. He closed his eyes, trying to relax and fall back asleep. 

It took a while, but he eventually couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, feeling as though they were weighed down. He sighed out, releasing the last of the tension and falling asleep.

…

Sapnap woke up as the sun rose over the horizon, shining in his eyes as the light poured into his room. Karl and Quackity were both still asleep on either side of him, curled into him and soaking up all of his warmth. He shifted from side to side, wanting to get up but unsure on whether he should. They both looked so peaceful, and he was still rather worried about them. He doesn’t know what happened to them to cause them both to pass out like that, and they both looked pale. Karl hadn’t returned in this condition last time, so he was worried.

He shifted upwards, sitting up slightly, Quackity and Karl’s heads came up with him as he lifted himself from the bed. He pushed the duvet off, slowly shifting out from underneath them both and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up slowly, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. He stood for a second, watching the two, before turning away and going looking for Tommy. He found him curled up in the other cave, a few blankets between him and the cave floor. It didn’t look comfortable.

“Tommy?” The boy startled, blinking his eyes open quickly and jerking his head up to look at Sapnap. He relaxed once he saw who it was, snuggling down into his duvets more and curling up. He looked rather comfy if he was being honest. He blinked up at him, ears flicking forwards, as if to ask what he was doing there.

“I just wondered if you had anything in mind for breakfast?” Sapnap really did not know how to speak to children, especially not obviously traumatized ones. This was more Karl’s forte, not Sapnap’s. So, he just offered the kid food. He moved outside, to their hastily set up furnace and smoker. He shoved a bit of meat into the smoker and waited for it to cook, keeping a close eye on the meat as Tommy made his way down from where he had been sleeping. He was rubbing his eyes, stepping down onto the bottom floor and padding over to crouch beside Sapnap. He watched as Sapnap poked at the meat a few times before deeming it cooked. He pulled all four pieces out of the smoker, putting each on a plate, he handed one plate to Tommy, which the other took gratefully, beginning to pick the meat apart with his fingers.

Sapnap headed up to their room, entering and heading over to the bed. He sat down on the edge, watching them sleep before leaning over and shaking Quackity gently. The avian just grumbled and pressed his face more into the mattress. Sapnap rolled his eyes and shook Karl’s shoulder, getting more of a reaction from him. He brought his head up from the pillow slowly, his hair mussed from sleep and his eyes bleary. He blinked a few times, eyes going to Sapnap’s face then back down to the plates he was holding. He sat up a bit more, ears perking up as he made sense of the food Sapnap was carrying. He sneezed once, sending his head forward. He puts his hands out for a plate, to which Sapnap obliged, handing him one and watching as Karl began to eat it. He turned back to Quackity, who was laying on his front, his wings tented over his head. He shoved his head underneath the feathers, grinning in an obnoxious way when Quackity sent him a glare. He withdrew his head and pulled Quackity up, handing him a plate once he had him settled.

Quackity sneezed, his feathers ruffling behind him. Sapnap didn’t know why the feathers did that, but it made him look cute, like a pissed off cat. He began to pick at the food, taking a few small bites as he sat there, wings still ruffled and feathers looking incredibly out of place, stuck up and falling out. He didn’t even try to smooth them down, focused on his meal. Karl finished, looking around before handing the plate to Sapnap, he set it down on the ground, already halfway through his own meal. He finished his a bit after Karl, both of them watching as Quackity continued to eat his.

Karl sneezed, rubbing at his nose, looking slightly disgruntled. He watched as Karl shivered, a thought slowly forming in his mind. He leaned over to where Karl was sat, pressing his hand against Karl’s forehead. He was warm, a bit too warm to be well. He leaned back, looking at Karl again, taking the paleness of his face in and the way his nose was red. He was sick, and looking over at Quackity, he assumed he was too.

“You’re sick.” He stated, looking between the two of them. Quackity sneezed at that moment, reinforcing his point. 

“And?” Quackity sounded disinterested, as if he didn’t care much for his own health.

“How did you get sick, you were gone for, like, a day.”

“Bottom of the ocean.” He turned his look to Karl, wanting to ask why on earth they had gone to the bottom of the ocean, and more importantly how. He didn’t understand the whole time travelling thing, but he’s pretty sure birds and dogs also cannot reach the bottom of the ocean.

“How did you get to the bottom of the ocean.” It wasn’t a question. Quackity and Karl looked at each other, Quackity giving Karl and meaningful look. He sighed and pulled a book from the folds of his cloak. He tapped the cover, which was professionally done, it stated ‘The Lost City of Mizu’.

“A lost city? At the bottom of the ocean?”

“It was less of a city and more of a trap.” That was not something that reassured Sapnap, how could an old city be a trap. The only dangers down there would be old buildings.

“How can an old city be a trap?” They glanced at each other again.

“It looked like, followers, of us lived there. The only one remaining was a follower of Dream. It was a hybrid named Ranbob, a descendant of Ranboo. There was blood everywhere, spatters on the floor. Ranbob showed us around, then set the tree on fire. We tried to escape. But he killed us all in Dream’s room.”

Sapnap didn’t know how to respond to Karl’s tale. Quackity shifted from one side to another, opening his mouth as if to say something, then closing it again. He seemed unsure, and both him and Karl were watching him, wondering what he was about to say.

“I have something that I should probably tell you.”


	19. Chapter 19

He shifted around before straightening up, he wasn’t scared, he wasn’t anxious. He put on a confident façade, trying to convince himself that he was brave as much as he was the others in the room. He stopped fiddling with the bottom of his shirt, turning his gaze upwards to meet their eyes. He breathed in once, and in his exhale he explained.

“I seem to have inherited some sort of powers that allow me to know things I shouldn’t and know how to seek out other things.” He said it without his voice wavering or stuttering once. He was proud of himself for that, even as a wave of anxiety crashed over him from the silence. He began to fiddle with the hem of his shirt again, not knowing what the silence meant. He really hoped he wasn’t about to be dragged from the bed and tossed into the snow.

He didn’t know if those anxieties showed on his face, because Sapnap softened into a smile, “I don’t see why that’s so bad, you’re just really smart, right?” He didn’t know how to respond to that, Sapnap was technically right, but he doesn’t think he knows the extent of what Quackity means.

“I mean, I guess? It’s a bit more than that though, I would say it’s almost prophetic, which is stupid.” This doesn’t seem to explain anything much more, making them more confused than before. He hurried to explain more, “You know when I would be drawn to a book on the bookshelves and wouldn’t seem to be able to put it down until I’ve finished?” They nod slowly, obviously remembering the numerous times he had done it, “That’s me being dragged to the book, it’s like, like, a fishing rod! The hook of one at least. It sorta just sticks in my brain, yanking me to wherever I need to go, my hands will then find a book and I sit and read.”

“So, you don’t have a choice in the knowledge you’re given?”

He shakes his head, “No, but it normally means something. Like a week or so ago, I was drawn to a book about life at the bottom of the ocean. I think we all know what that was leading me towards.” They nodded, a slight bit of worry and guilt crossing Karl’s face. He didn’t understand why he would feel guilty.

“There’s another thing too.” They both fix him with their gaze again, making him almost cower back in fear, feeling pinned in place by their eyes. He brushes it off, flicking his feathers. He sneezes once, twice, feathers ruffling in annoyance. “The other thing is that I seem to have, prophetic dreams? Visions of the future? I don’t really know what you would call them if I’m being honest. I just kinda see things that are gonna happen. I saw the tree catch on fire several times before it actually happened.”

“Quackity,” at Sapnap’s voice he turns towards him, “why didn’t you tell us?” The man looks upset, not hurt, just upset. It makes Quackity feel a little guilty. 

“I, uh, I didn’t honestly know what was happening, I just thought it was me being drawn towards knowledge, then the dreams were brushed off as just small things, just my imagination. Me going to the future with Karl, and seeing what I saw happen in my dream then. It kinda cemented that it wasn’t just a silly little thing. I didn’t want to worry you.” He finishes, looking to both of them, hoping his face displayed his guilt.

“God, you’re such an idiot Q.” Karl’s arms latch around him, dragging him over to where he was situated in the bed. He lets out a squawk of protest. They both turn towards him when he does that.

“Did you, did you just squawk like a bird?” Sapnap sounds like he’s trying not to laugh. Quackity crosses his arms, huffing and hoping he looks annoyed. The look is probably ruined by Karl clinging onto him like he’s a teddy bear, but he hopes that it displays enough annoyance to Sapnap.

“You say that as if you’ve never heard me bark before Sappy Nappy.” Sapnap turns his eyes to Karl. His eyebrows furrow in confusion, creasing his forehead, as he tries to think through it.

“Yeah, but, anyone can bark, right? I mean, it’s not that hard.” He doesn’t sound incredibly confident in himself, looking around to them both for confirmation.

“Yes, but not like, a full-on dog bark, people can only do imitations. It’s not like that’s the only thing anyway.” Sapnap looked like anything he had known about hybrids had been just about turned on its head.

“We having a feelings conversation in here? Gross.” Quackity jumps at Schlatt’s appearance, not seeing the ghost until he phases through the wall. He grins at him, head tipped to the side. His ear flicks once as he glances over to Sapnap and Karl. “Not gonna tell loverboys I’m here?” Quackity’s face reddens at the term he uses for Sapnap and Karl.

“You good there, Q?”

“Yep, someone finally decided to show up.”

“Who?” Sapnap sounded confused, looking around the room for someone. “You can’t see him,” he sighed, “it’s Schlatt. You know, whole eating his heart thing.” He turned back to Schlatt, “I though you’d gone off and died again, where have you been this entire time.”

“Well, someone did decide to just up and leave, disappearing from the cabin at some point between going to bed and Techno getting up the next morning. I spent a while searching for you, through your aura and shit, then it just went poof,” He gestured with his hands, as if to demonstrate the way he had disappeared, “I couldn’t find where you were after that, because you weren’t here. I’m assuming you went off with time boy over there,” He gestures in Karl’s general direction, “So I waited until you reappeared, thought it would be rude to come wake you, so I waited, just kinda chilling in the area.”

Quackity can’t argue with that, it seemed like something Schlatt would do. Karl leaned over him, “While that long moment of silence was really nice as you stared at the corner of our room, I would like to know what he was going on about.”

“We were gone, he tried tracking me, I went off with you, he couldn’t find us. Once I reappeared, he came to us, waited until I woke up apparently.”

“And what? He’s just kinda chilling, our resident friendly-ish ghost?” Quackity looked over to Schlatt at Sapnap’s question. The ram hybrid was leaned up against the wall, watching their conversation with a bored expression.

“Pretty much yeah, I think he’s here to stay.”

“You betcha I am. Death couldn’t clean this earth of me, so I am taking it upon myself to make that everyone’s problem.” Quackity sighs, still feeling way too tired to deal with a sassy ram hybrid ghost. He leans back a bit more, allowing Karl to take most of his weight as he watches Schlatt across the room. The hybrid stands there for a few moments longer, he flicks his ear once, then again. He sighs, turning towards Quackity, “A health pot should clear up your cold, it’s not too severe, so you can probably do without, but it’ll make everyone’s life easier if you and time boy have one.”

“Thanks.” He turns and relays the information to Sapnap, who turns away and walks over to the enderchest shoved in a corner of their room. He pulls the lid open, letting the small purple particles dissipate before sticking his head in the chest, rummaging around before resurfacing, pulling out a pink potion. Quackity stares at it, knowing that it tastes disgusting. Invisibility potions are his favourite, they have no flavour. But health potions? They’re disgustingly sweet, it makes him want to gag just thinking about it. He watches Sapnap hand the bottle to Karl first, the latter uncorking it and taking a few sips, seemingly able to stand the flavour. Karl then hands it to Quackity, who takes a few sips as well, recoiling in disgust at the taste, tempted to spit it out, but knowing he shouldn’t. he swallows it, the sugary-sweet liquid sliding down his throat, slow as molasses. He hates health potions, they’re so sticky, they seem to linger in your throat for hours after you have them, no matter how much water you drink.

He feels the potion begin to take effect almost instantaneously, a small warmth spreading through him, making him feel slightly more awake, less lethargic. He feels like he could actually do something, and he wants to. Their house feels too exposed still, no roof, just a few pieces of scaffolding. He knows that he can do the roof easily, able to fly and all. He turns to Sapnap, knowing that he was the one monitoring their supplies and the building.

“Do we have the supplies for the roof?” Sapnap turns to him.

“Yeah, we do. Why?”

“Because I’m gonna do it, I can fly, meaning I can reach the roof easier.” Sapnap seems to think about it for a moment, before walking over to a double chest along one wall. He pulls out a few piles of wood and roofing tiles, walking back to Quackity and handing it to him, stack by stack. He takes it, putting the items away in his inventory, taking note of what Sapnap tells him, wanting to do the roof correctly. He shifts out from under the duvet, wanting to fix the blankets into a more nest-like shape, but reluctant to do so in case the others didn’t like it like that. He looks around for his boots, spotting them by the doorway and heading over to pull them on. There’s a small, roughly hewn, corridor connecting two of the ‘rooms’ they had carved into the cliff face. Glancing through, he can see Tommy on the other side, looking through his enderchest, but not pulling anything out.

He dismisses it, moving over to the place where the room opens up to the sky. He spreads his wings, shaking them a few times to wake them up fully, before leaping out, making sure to duck his head to avoid hitting it on the roof. He takes to the air, quickly moving upwards and welcoming the familiar breeze that brushes through his feathers, winding its way around him. He hadn’t noticed how clammy and sticky feeling the sea breeze had been, but his feathers no longer felt clogged with salt.

He hovered over the open roof of the house, mapping out what needed to go where in his mind. Plan finished he moves down to the top of the house’s walls, beginning to lay down support block, ones that the tiles for the roof will rest on later. Schlatt floats up beside him after ten or so minutes, making amicable conversation with him as he lays the support blocks, going from side to side in a symmetrical pattern, fitting it snugly against the cliff face. He makes sure to leave a gap for the chimney to go through.

He finished laying the support blocks, glancing up at the sky told him it was just after midday, nearing afternoon. He doesn’t bother to eat, not feeling particularly hungry, continuing on with the roof, beginning to lay the tiles, ensuring that they’re securely fastened. He didn’t want them coming loose at any point. He finishes one half, moving onto the other, still carrying on his conversation with Schlatt.

“How long had you been there before you decided to announce your arrival?” Schlatt hummed in acknowledgement, tipping his head as he thought.

“probably since, you had just said that you needed to tell them something. That’s around when I tuned in, interested in what made you so anxious, you’re like a mood ring y’know. You all are.” Quackity had no clue what he meant, but at least he didn’t need to explain to Schlatt the whole prophetic knowledge powers thing. He should probably come up with a better name for that.

“A mood ring? What do you mean?” 

“Your auras,” he flaps a hand at Quackity, “they change colour with your moods, shifting from hue to hue. It’s interesting to watch. Each aura has its own distinct pattern though, meaning despite the colour you can still locate the person.”

Quackity finds it interesting, a small part of his brain asking for more. “Could you always see auras?” he can’t help it, he knows it might be a rather invasive question, but he feels a need to know. He’s just pursuing a small thread of knowledge.

“Kinda? I suppose I did, but it was all a lot weaker when I was alive. The colours were dimmed, so it was harder to tell the difference between them and they muddled with each other a lot, I sometimes couldn’t tell which aura belonged to which person.”

“How do the auras appear?”

Schlatt looks at him out of the corner of his eye, slightly turned away from him, facing towards the sun. Quackity places another tile before Schlatt responds, “They clump around the person, each one appears differently, as I said earlier. Yours is a sort of feathered one, it moves as if there’s a breeze, small bits occasionally drifting off, caught by the wind. I don’t know what happens to them, they swirl away into the sky, dissolving more the further away from you they get. Your aura’s a lovely shade of light blue now, you know what that means?” he shakes his head, “It means you’re interested in what I have to say, there are undertones of orange, meaning that something within you is keeping you interested,” he eyes roam over Quackity, as if searching for something, “I don’t know what the thing is, most likely the same place your prophetic dreams come from.” His eyes snap back up to meet Quackity’s, making his freeze halfway through securing the next tile, feeling pinned in place by the look, it holds a power that Quackity hadn’t seen before. It showed him that Schlatt knew more than he did.

“Is that how you knew Tubbo was a spy?”

“Yes. The kid was constantly swarmed with a cloud of purple, light and dark, mixing together. He regretted whatever he did and felt guilty about it. At the time I only saw purple, dismissing the different shades as no difference. If I had understood fully, I don’t think I would have gone through with the execution.”

Quackity fixed the last tile, standing up and stretching. He spread his wings and was in the sky in seconds. He allowed himself to glide for a bit, slowly circling above the house, the finished house, at least on the outside. He tucks his wings, allowing himself to fall to the ground, ignoring the whistling of the wind in his ears as he plummets towards the ground. He flares his wings out a few feet above the ground, allowing him to land safely without breaking most of the bones in his body.

“You’re going to give both of your loverboys a heart-attack if you keep doing that.” He jumps slightly at Schlatt’s sudden appearance, “Trust me, not a good way to go.” He laughs, but it sounds forced and Quackity can’t help but feel a bit sorry for him. He had known that the man was still alive when they all filed out of the van, he knew that he could have probably saved him with a few potions. But he had left, alongside the others, with a satisfied feeling of victory in his heart.

He pushes the door open, striding into the house, pulling his boots off at the door, unwilling to track snow into the house. A half-built fireplace sits at one end of the room, a door leading off to another. Their kitchen and longue are in the same room, a small island curving around the kitchen to separate it from the main area. He likes the way it has been set out, allowing them to interact with whoever was in the kitchen whilst staying in the longue. The sofas look comfy, so he sits down on one, allowing himself to sink into the soft material, tipping his head back and relaxing. He spreads his wings out, rolling over onto his front and lying face down, spread along the length of the sofa. It allows him to relieve some of the pressure from his wings.

He closes his eyes, almost falling asleep before he hears someone enter the room, footsteps treading over the carpet. He feels the part of sofa near his shoulder dip down as someone sits there. “You awake there Q?” 

He hums, not feeling like forming words. Karl sits by his shoulder, his hand slowly making its way towards his wings. He lets him, enjoying the way him and Sapnap treat his wings. They’re good at dealing with the feathers, making him wonder how they learnt to preen them. His wings have been more itchy recently, but he dismisses it as being more preoccupied, not having as much time to comb through the feathers, making sure they’re all aligned and in perfect order. Karl begins to do it for him, brushing his fingers through the feathers, moving them all back into place. He must have gotten a bit too relaxed, too comfortable around the people he was with because he hears Karl chuckle and another set of footsteps approaching.

“Did he just chirp, as in like, a bird chirp?” Sapnap’s voice is soft, as if reluctant to disturb him.

“Yeah,” Karl chuckles again, this one more squeaky than the last, “I think he did.” Quackity ignores them, shifting over once Karl has finished his wings, tucking them behind his back, moving them out of the way of the sofa. He feels the sofa rise up, Karl obviously having moved. It then dips again, a warm weight being pressed up against his side.

“Heya, bird boy.” Sapnap whispers into his ear, snuggling up closer to him and pulling a wing over himself with soft hands, as if he’s just a blanket. Quackity shifts himself slightly, rolling onto his side and spreading his wing over Sapnap properly, the other slightly squished against the sofa cushion, it’s not too uncomfortable, and he’s not planning on sleeping there for the night, so he allows Sapnap to shift closer.

…

Quackity only moves from the sofa to eat dinner, slowly pushing Sapnap off until he wakes up, falling to the floor below as he does so. He helps him up, extending a hand and pulling the other from the ground. They move over to the table, where Karl has placed the dinner he kindly made. They sit and they eat, Tommy joining them not long after, eating his food quickly before disappearing again. They let him go, not wanting to push on his boundaries too much.

They finish their dinner, they wash their dishes, and they move up to their bedroom together. Karl tripped on a stair halfway up, almost slamming his face into the step a few steps up, he’s saved by Sapnap catching his shoulder, pulling him upright and letting him steady himself. They arrive in their room, and Quackity stares sleepily at the bed, the only thing registering about it is that it is wrong. He moves and grabs a pile of duvets, pulling the one already on the bed off, and begins to arrange the pillows and blankets into a more familiar nest form. He works quickly, constructing the nest within a few minutes, only taking a few seconds to admire his handiwork before climbing in and promptly passing out, only barely registering the two weights settling beside him. His wings still itch, but he’s too tired to care.


	20. Chapter 20

When he first woke up, he was swaddled in warmth, two weights pressed up against his side and covered by his wings. His wings had stopped itching, which made him relax more, shifting around, ignoring the few feathers that fell off his back. The occasional feather fell out, it wasn’t too much of a big deal. He allowed himself to drift back off to sleep, feeling comfortable in the middle of the warmth.

It was easy to fall back asleep, feeling as though he were covered in a soft down blanket.

…

When he next woke up, he felt more awake, forcefully blinking his eyes open. There was a soft light spilling into the room, the sun shining in from the windows someone had installed the previous day. He didn’t know who did it, but they seemed to have done a good job. He shifted around, not bothering to get up just yet, comfortable with how he was tucked between Karl and Sapnap. He lay there for a while, his only movement being pulling his wings against his back, holding them closer. The sun slowly peeking more and more into the room, spreading its light over all its furniture. He watches as Karl begins to stir, a ray of light cast over his face. He scrunches his face up in annoyance before opening his eyes, staring at the ceiling as he lies on his back.

“Good morning.” Quackity decides to speak up, Karl’s head turning towards him as he speaks. He watches as Karl’s eyes widen, ears pulling slightly back. He doesn’t quite know what Karl is so surprised about, confusing him on how he can already be confused this early in the morning.

“You good there?” He tips his head to the side, still craning his head around to face Karl. Karl is still just staring at him, or, as he follows the man gaze, at his back, where his wings are neatly folded. He cranes his head around, just seeing his wings pressed up against his back. It looks normal from the angle he’s at.

“There are feathers all over the bed.” He turns back to Karl, who is right, there would normally only be one or two feathers that would come loose per day. Strewn over their small nest there was a bunch of feathers, littered in clumps, most a lot longer than the normal feathers that would drop out or come loose. These were long feathers. Looking closer he could see a few of his flight feathers mixed in. That should probably be a cause for concern, they weren’t meant to be pulled loose.

“Are all those feathers meant to be everywhere?” They both turn to where Sapnap’s voice comes from, the man only just bringing his head up from where it had been pressed into a pillow. He has a line on his face, a dent from where it had been pushed into the pillow. His hair is flat at the front of his head, his fringe sticking up. Quackity finds his appearance comedic, and he doesn’t hesitate to laugh at him. Sapnap glares at him for a second before looking over to Karl.

“Why are there feathers all over our bed?” He looks to Quackity, knowing that he was the only one with feathers in the room at this moment. They are his feathers, and all of them know, they are the exact golden shade, with a slight mottled colouration. There are a numerous amount, probably more than it’s healthy to lose, he realises as he looks around the bed. He rolls slightly, moving himself out from between Sapnap and Karl, sitting back on his heels to allow himself some more space. A few more feathers begin to itch, and he pulls the wing around looking over it. Several of the feathers are loose, most of them beginning to itch again. He plucks one that looks beyond saving out, placing it down on one of the sheets.

“Are all your feathers falling out now?” Schlatt is leaned over his shoulder, pressing a ghostly hand up against his other wing, he smacks it away, or he tries to, his hand just phases through the ghost’s hand. Schlatt just looked at him in annoyance, flicking one ear as if he were a fly he could swat away. Quackity just watches as Schlatt stares at him, he stares right back into the ghost ram’s eyes. 

“You’re moulting, you know that right?” Quackity knew what moulting was, he wasn’t an idiot, he just doesn’t know when or how his wings are supposed to moult. He’s sure that if he had still been at the cabin his brain would have found him a book on bird’s moulting. But he currently had no access to books, but he would need to fix that soon.

“I know that Avians moult, I’m not stupid. I just don’t know when I moult or how. I normally have them shoved under a shirt and tightly bound.” Schlatt hums at that, probably seeing the sense in his words.

He hears Sapnap whisper behind him, “Is Schlatt here?”

“How am I supposed to know? Neither of us can see him.”

“Fair.”

“Duck Avians flight feathers all fall out, they have a month or so where they can’t fly at all, the pinfeathers coming through. After the month, the flight feathers are back, all perfect and ready for flying again.”

“So, I’m essentially grounded for a month? No flying, like, at all?”

“Yep. You’ll be like a normal person, if normal people had useless wings attached to their backs.” Schlatt seems to find himself funny, laughing at his own joke as Quackity glares at him.

“Are we gonna get a translation or just a one-sided conversation with thin air?” Quackity tuns back to the two still in bed, both looking more than a little confused. He sighed, “He said that I’m moulting, all the flight feathers will fall out, they regrow in a month, but for that month I can’t fly. Not safely at least.”

Sapnap frowned, whilst Karl just looked sympathetic. 

“Most of your flight feathers are still there though?” He looks over the wing he’s got in front of him, appraising the state of the feathers. Most of his flight feathers are still there, sitting proudly, nestled among the other feathers. He can see where the moult began, the thinning of his feathers beginning in his tertiary feathers and spreading out along the rest of his wing. Spreading the other one out he can see the same with the other wing. The only flight feathers missing are the ones in the tertiary area. 

“What do you do to help with the moulting?” He turns back to Schlatt, looking for answers. His feathers itched more, his wings twitching and ruffling every few seconds in annoyance. The itching is irritating him, having mounted from a small discomfort a few minutes after he woke up to the persistent itch it was currently. 

“Best way is for someone to just preen your feathers, but like, more pulling the feathers out than straightening them.” Quackity honestly doesn’t know how Schlatt knows so much about Avians and how to deal with all the different peculiarities of their wings. He doesn’t really care though, just grateful that someone seems to know what the fuck is going on. He turns back to Sapnap and Karl, already knowing what he’s going to ask, and that they most likely won’t refuse.

“He said that the best thing to do would be to preen them, but pull out feathers more than straighten them.” He shrugs, not knowing what else to say, Schlatt had given minimal information and he was just grateful for any information. Sapnap swings his legs over the side of the bed, standing up and stretching briefly before moving over to the desk in the corner of the room. He drags the chair across the floor, the wood scraping against the floor as he drags it. He points at the chair, “Sit.” Quackity feels offended that he’s being talked to like he’s a dog, but sits down as Sapnap instructed. He turns around when Sapnap tells him to, his front being pressed up against the back of the chair, his wings hanging down to the floor below him. 

Schlatt hovers in front of his face, just watching him. Quackity rests his chin on the back of the chair, allowing his shoulders to slump a bit, feathers brushing against the wooden floor below as he shifts them. He hears Karl roll off the bed behind him, his feet hitting the floor with a soft thud, he can hear two sets of footsteps come up behind him, one pair of hands beginning to comb through his wings. The hands are warm, warmer than a normal human’s hands would normally be. It’s Sapnap, brushing through the feathers on his right wing, plucking out any loose feathers. It’s nice, the stroking of his hands and the occasional tug soothing the itch below his skin. 

He feels another pair of hands begin to rest on his wing, right near where the wing bends. The hands are colder than Sapnap’s, and he knows they’re Karl’s from the way they methodically move over his wings, the movements methodical, pulling any and all loose feathers from his wing. He allows himself to relax, slumping forward in his chair and half listening to Schlatt as he rambles on. The topics vary, and he’s not completely listening most of the time, just humming every now and again to show that he was still listening.

“I’ve only met one other raccoon hybrid, they’re pretty rare,” Schlatt muses, Quackity chooses then to zone back into the conversation, wanting to find out more about the person they live with. There had only been minimal information on raccoon hybrids in the book he had read, the normal stuff about them being sneaky and stealing stuff. It was slightly opinionated, but you rarely found any information in books without that.

“The one I met was rather young, a few years into their traits, barely an adult, y’know? Anyway, they were just, like, super obsessed with this one piece of jewellery they had. It wasn’t even that special. I asked them about it once, they said they didn’t know why they liked it so much, they just felt an attachment to it. Someone tried to steal it once, pretty sure that was one of the most stressful days of my life.”

Quackity turned the new information over in his head, some, or all, he only had a research group of one, not very reliable, but at least some raccoon hybrids had an intense attachment to items they seemed to value. He compared his new findings with Tommy, everyone on the server had known how much he seemed to value his disks, which just made it all the more cruel when everyone seemed to be set on taking them away or destroying them. He doesn’t actually know how many of his disks he currently had, just that he had lost both of them at some point or another.

He felt Sapnap pull another feather loose from his wing, releasing the itch that had been building underneath the shaft. He shifted his wings, shaking them a little bit to release the tension that had built up as he held them still. He didn’t really realise how much he actually moved his wings around until he had to keep them still. He doesn’t really remember when he started moving his wings expressively, but he noticed now as he felt the urge to move them, to twitch the feathers and shake them out in response to anything directed towards him.

Karl pulled another feather free. They both take a step back, removing their hands from his wings. He shakes them out a bit more, a few extra feathers coming loose and floating to the ground. He turns around, facing towards Karl and Sapnap, tucking his wings behind him as he does so. Looking to the floor he balks at the sheer amount of feathers in a pile on the floor. It’s a large amount, the pile looking rather soft. The longer he looks at it the more exposed his wings feel.

“Do you think you could use these in pillows?”

Sapnap and Karl glance at each other, “Probably, do we have any fabric to do that?” Quackity think about that for a second, considering if they had any, they did not, and where they could get some, the nearby village. He had been meaning to go there anyway, he wanted some books, and they needed some more food and some things to plant for the summer. Quackity begins to pull his clothes on, Sapnap and Karl doing the same

“I don’t think we do, but I’ve been meaning to go to the local village anyway, I could pick some up whilst there.” He wraps the sash of his clothes around his waist, fastening the small belt thing over his trousers. He tightens it, not wanting it to fall off of him whilst he’s walking around.

“Sure,” Sapnap nodded, “maybe take someone with you? You can’t fly away right now an we don’t know if L’Manburg is still looking for you.”

Quackity could fend for himself, he knew that, but he also wouldn’t be able to quickly leave if someone did show up. “Yeah, I can take Tommy with me, he’s not gone anywhere recently.” Karl and Sapnap don’t seem to mind, heading out of the room into the hallway and down the stairs. Quackity and Schlatt follow behind them, moving down the stairs and into the kitchen. Quackity slides onto a stool at the table, sitting and putting his head down on the table. He remains that way until someone places a plate in front of him, a warm smell of cooked breakfast wafting off of it. He pulls his head up, taking in Tommy’s appearance, they boy sat across from him at the table, ears flicking and eyes darting around.

“Tommy?” The boy looks to him for a second, eyes meeting his before lowering down, not making eye contact, “How would you feel about a trip to the village with me?”

“Yeah, sure.” He sounds slightly confused, but accepts his offer anyway, already halfway through his meal. Quackity starts eating too, lifting his knife and fork. “We leave after we’ve eaten.”

He eats quickly, wanting to get to the village quickly. The clouds are low hanging, making Quackity think that there might be some snow on the way, not much from the size of the clouds, but enough to not want to get caught in it. He places his plate in the sink, hoping that someone else will wash it up for him whilst he’s out. He heads over to the door, tucking his coat tighter around his shoulders and pulling his boots on. He waits for Tommy to do the same, watching as he pulls on his rather sad looking trainers. He promises himself he’ll buy him a new coat and boots when they arrive at the village. 

He walks over to his enderchest, pulling out a substantial number of emeralds, some of which were stolen, others mined by him. He stores it away, keeping it safe for later. He ignores the way Tommy’s eyes catch on the shiny jewel, heading out of the door in favour of addressing it. They begin to head across the tundra, snow crunching underneath their boots. There’s very little wind, only an occasional breeze that swirls past, carrying a few flakes of snow with it. They make their way over several hills before they see a small village in the distance. There is smoke drifting from the chimneys of all the houses, fires lit to keep the villagers warm.

They enter the village at a brisk pace, Tommy only lagging a small bit behind, his tail drifting just above the snow. He still seems uneasy, his ears flicking every way as his eyes flicker around the surrounding buildings. Quackity heads to where he knows a leatherworker lives, knocking on the door once before pushing it open. As expected, there is a leatherworker sat by the fire, sewing pieces of leather together. The villager looks up as he enters, eyes scanning up and down him before deeming him as a customer. He stands, sending a greeting before walking over. 

Quackity points to his own boots, then to Tommy, hoping the villager would understand. The leatherworker studies his boots for a moment before walking over to Tommy and looking at his feet. He hums, straightening up and walking away, rummaging through one of his chests. He pulls out a pair of boots, bringing them over to the two of them and putting his hand out. Quackity hands him sixteen emeralds, which he seems happy with. He hands the boots to Quackity, who hands them to Tommy in turn.

“Your trainers aren’t suited for this weather, these will probably be better.” Tommy takes them slowly, as if afraid Quackity would snatch them back away. He takes them from his hands, slowly lowering himself to the ground and pulling them onto his feet. He stands up again, tail swishing behind him slowly. Quackity thinks that means he’s pleased.

“His aura’s a mix of yellow and dark pink, he’s happy but confused.” Quackity jumps at Schlatt’s sudden appearance, wings flaring slightly out of instinct, despite being unable to fly. Schlatt seems to find some satisfaction in sneaking up on Quackity and scaring him.

“Piss off Schlatt.”

“Schlatt?” Quackity turns back to Tommy, he had forgotten that he hadn’t yet encountered their local ghost. He sighed, “yeah, Schlatt. Ate his heart and shit, now he haunts me, no one else can see him. It’s wonderful.” His voice drips with sarcasm, making Schlatt shoot him a glare.

“I merely bestow you with my presence, you should be grateful.” Quackity scoffs at that. He heads out of the leatherworker’s moving down the street and towards the shepherd’s house. He pushes this door open without knocking, heading into the warmth of the house. The villager turns towards him again, quirking an eyebrow at him. They stand from their seat, walking over to him. He pulls his coat out, pointing to it and then to Tommy. They seem to get the message, heading over to their racks of coats. They pull one out in a similar colour to Quackity’s, holding it against Tommy for size. They hand it over, extending their hand for payment. He presses twenty-five emeralds into their palm, leaving swiftly and Tommy following close behind him.

He heads to the last place on their list, exchanging emeralds for food with the farmer, grateful for the extra person to help carry their supplies. It’s at this moment that it begins to snow. They both take that as their cue to begin heading back, pulling the bags of food with them, quickly tucking them into their inventory and walking faster. They move away from the village quickly, heading over the first hill before the snow begins to fall in larger flurries.

They head into a forest, trying to avoid the most of the snow, they move through it quickly, brushing through the underbrush and through the winding trees. They hear a bird’s startled call nearby, both of them freezing as another sounds off. There’s obviously something in the forest, whether it’s a predator or a person. They glance at each other, both withdrawing their swords and dropping into a fighting stance. They circle around the small space they’re in, pressed back to back, unsure on what was approaching. Quackity hears a twig snap, whatever it was, was heavy, the crack resonating through the surrounding area causing a few birds to take flight.

They both face towards the place the sound came from, readying their swords in that direction. They watch as something, no someone, stumbles out from the bush, twisting awkwardly to avoid landing in the snow. Their suit is already covered in snow. They turn around to face the two of them, ears dropping as he takes in who is stood in front of him. His tail shifts from side to side, glancing between the two of them, obviously anxious.

“Ranboo?” Tommy lowers his sword, looking over to Quackity, as if unsure on what to do. He keeps his sword pointed at the enderman hybrid’s chest, not willing to trust someone who had chased after him in the presidential building.

“Hey…” He sounds worried, still flicking his eyes between the two of them. “fancy seeing you here.” He laughs awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. Quackity just watches him with a level gaze. Ranboo sighs, shoulders slumping, showing his defeat.

“I’m here, to, uh, to ask for a favour.”


	21. Chapter 21

Ranboo watches the two across from him warily. Quackity has his sword raised, the point facing towards his chest, ready to run him through at any second. He watches it nervously, not wanting to be stabbed in the middle of a forest. Tommy stands a few paces away from him, he apparently a hybrid, something Ranboo hadn’t known, and neither did L’Manburg, judging off the fact that Tubbo hadn’t mentioned it at all, not even in the meetings pertaining to Tommy.

He shuddered at the thought of those meetings, Dream was always there, pinning him down with his gaze as he wrote the minutes for the meeting. It made him squirm in his chair, not making eye contact, he never made eye contact, he was wary of himself, not wanting to aggravate other people or his more, feral part of instincts.

His eyes darted to the snow around Tommy and Quackity’s feet, he drew in another breath, it catching in his throat and stuttering halfway through its journey to his lungs. He drew in another one, this one more smooth.

“I uh, I have a favour to ask,” he repeated, wanting to make sure that they understood. They stood and watched him, their expressions not wavering from the well-practiced and smoothed over impassive features.

“I request shelter.” He blurted out, ripping the plaster off and hoping it didn’t hurt him too much in the long run. His tail twitched behind him as Quackity watched him, Tommy’s expression broke, softening into one of worry and sympathy. Ranboo had already known that Tommy was living wherever Quackity was, having taken shelter with them. He had decided to try his luck with them, reasoning that Tommy was probably still his friend, despite him rarely showing up during his exile.

Quackity’s feathers ruffled, his feathers puffing out and making him look bigger. The wings looked rather lacklustre even when puffed out, a few feathers drifting from his wings and to the ground as he did so. There were a few patches where the feathers were thinner, as if a large mass of them had fallen out. Ranboo didn’t feel like insulting the man with a blade pointed at him though, so he kept quiet.

Quackity huffed a sigh, sheathing his sword whilst he watched Ranboo, his wings tucked themselves behind his back neatly, making Ranboo wonder if he had to think a conscious thought to get them to do that or if it was just instinct.

“Come on then,” Quackity turns on his heel, grinding a few of the fallen feathers into the snow, “it’s gonna snow soon and I don’t want to get caught in that.” He follows after the two as the make their way back, treading over the yellow tinted feathers, pressing them further into the snow. He glances back at the clearing, staring down at the overlapping footsteps that churned the snow up, he turned back, following after the other two as the sky gradually darkened.

…

Something in the forest called out, another voice responding to it. A few footsteps crunched through the snow, coming upon a small clearing. The first bends down, brushing their hands through the snow, locating the yellow feathers and pulling them free from the ground. They were slightly clumped together, held by the snow they had been crushed into. He held them up for his companion to see.

They nodded, turning and looking at the tracks leading from the forest. There was more than one, meaning they should proceed with caution. The snow began to fall, the darkened clouds opening up and allowing the small flurries loose.

They follow the tracks whilst they can, unwilling to get lost in the snow before they find their target.

…

Quackity watches Ranboo as he enters the house, stomping the snow off of his boots and shaking his wings out, discarding any snow that had landed on the during their journey. The tall hybrid looks about ready to jump out of his own skin, eyes flicking around nervously. Just looking at him made Quackity’s heart race and his breath begin to catch in his throat. God, what had happened to the teen since he left, he had been jumpy when Quackity was in cabinet, but this was a whole other level of anxiety. Ranboo’s eyes darted over to the doorway, fixing on the two people stood there before shooting back away, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact.

Quackity headed over to where Karl and Sapnap were, pulling them through the doorway before they could make the teen more anxious. Sapnap looked over to him, “Are we just adopting any hybrid child that looks sad or something,” Quackity sends him a glare, knowing that Ranboo probably picked up on that, you don’t have ears that long and not catch the conversation in the same room as them.

“No, he asked for a favour, he’s getting a favour.” He pulled them over to the table, sitting them down before gesturing for Ranboo and Tommy to sit down. Tommy flops into his usual seat, the only one left for Ranboo between Tommy and Quackity. He sat down slowly as if afraid that they were going to shout at him for doing so. He slouched as he sat down, hunching in on himself, which can’t be good for his back.

He looks Ranboo up and down, noting how tall he is despite being almost completely hunched over, shrinking in on himself as he crosses his arms across his chest. Schlatt has been watching from the corner, silent since they left the village and remaining so when they found Ranboo and when they brought him home. He had taken up the residence in the corner once they entered the house, watching the whole room as he floated there.

He moved closer to their gathering, hovering near to Quackity’s shoulder as he looks them all up and down, “He,” he points to Ranboo, finger a few inches from his face but Ranboo doesn’t even flinch, unable to see him, “his aura is all kinds of messed up. I’ve only seen the kid once before, but it was not like this when I saw him. It looks like it’s been ripped to shreds, a few pieces hanging everywhere and most of it a light grey.”

Quackity has no clue what that means, ignoring the ghost in favour of turning back to the living people at the table. Most were either watching him, or Ranboo.

“Why did you need shelter Ranboo.” Quackity cuts right to the chase, not wanting to dodge the question, no matter how anxious the kid looked. He shifted in his seat, eyes looking anywhere but at Quackity. He breathed slowly, most likely something he did to calm himself down.

“I wasn’t safe in L’Manburg anymore,” he breathes slowly again, “no one was, everyone there is either under Dream’s thumb, or about to be. It wasn’t a good atmosphere, everyone being wary of one another, nobody spoke to any members of the cabinet, leaving us only to talk among ourselves. Tubbo was the worst of them I think, going along with most of what Dream said, as if hew ere eager to prove himself.”

He trailed off, unsure of where to go. Tommy looked devastated at the thought that his best friend, the president who exiled him, would be working with the person who had kept him in that exile. His ears were twitching, eyes flickering between a point on Ranboo’s shoulder and other places around the room. He never looked Ranboo in the eye though, not once did his gaze reach the other’s face.

“What was Tubbo going along with that Dream suggested.” He tried to keep the discussion going, wanting to know what Dream was up to, what the man had been doing sine their last encounter. He almost shuddered, hand reaching up to his shoulder instinctually, trying to rub away the phantom ache of an arrow stuck between the muscle and bone.

“They discussed,” his eyes glanced between him and Tommy, shoulders hunching up further as he seemed to shrink in on himself more, “they discussed you and Tommy, what to do with you, where you could have gone and what you were planning.” He paused, “Dream seemed convinced that you were both together, working on something.”

Tommy was watching the conversation silently, eyes still flicking around the room, only coming to a rest on Quackity and Ranboo for a few seconds at most. He opened his mouth, closed it and seemed to think hard, “What did they discuss to do about us.” His voice was small, slightly broken, as if he were imagining his friend working with Dream. It seemed to pain him.

Ranboo looked over to Tommy, “They were discussing the best way to bring you back, to capture you. They were,” his breath shuddered, voice wavering slightly, “they were very brutal in the methods they discussed. One of their favourite was, uh, cutting your wings off,” he nodded to Quackity, “and then bringing you to this place called Pandora’s Vault. I don’t know what it is, but it certainly made Dream very excited.”

Quackity sat back, processing the information he had been given. His wings twitched slightly behind him, the few feathers he had left ruffling up. Karl and Sapnap watched him from the corner of their eyes, checking to make sure he was okay. He was fine, he was just thinking, about what this ‘Pandora’s Vault’ could be, and why it made Dream excited. He tried to think of any information that could help him, reaching for anything he had learnt or dreamt of. He sat there, ignoring Ranboo and Tommy as they spoke in hushed voices, eventually rising from the table and leaving the room.

Karl and Sapnap were both watching him still, Sapnap looked angry, whilst Karl just looked sad. They both stood from the table, Karl moving over to stand by his shoulder, Sapnap moving into the kitchen and collecting some wood. Quackity watched as Sapnap took the wood over to their newly installed fireplace, setting it down and lighting it on fire. The log began to crumble as he kept his hands on it, the fire glowing a warm orange before twisting into a roaring red and yellow. Karl pulled him from his seat by the arm, dragging him over to the fireplace as Sapnap’s eyes burned.

Once he had completely destroyed most of the logs with the intensity of the heat he was putting out, he leaned back, sighing heavily as he glanced down to the carpet below him. He stacked a few logs and watched as the tongues of flame began leaping over the new wood. He pulled back, staring into the flames as he leaned back into Karl, his back against the other’s shoulder. Quackity was leaned up against Karl, resting against his side as he stared into the fire. He had one wing wrapped around the three of them, the other slightly curled around himself.

A few things were slotting together in his brain, they had been doing that a lot recently since he realised the dreams he was having weren’t merely from his own imagination. The pieces clicked together and he sat up straight, realising that he probably had already seen the Pandora’s Vault, he had just never seen it whilst awake.

“Quackity?” He turned towards Karl, who was looking at him from where he was sat, slightly squished between him and Sapnap. “Are you okay? You just sat bolt upright and seem slightly more worried than before.”

“No, no, I just figured a few things out. A few things from the future, the thing I can see in my dreams.” Sapnap hummed, still staring into the fire, his eyes reflecting the leaping flames. “I had a dream, the day after they tried to catch me, the day they shot me. I was in this large obsidian place, my wings gone, the place where they would be attached all scabbed over. Dream and Tubbo, at least I think it was Tubbo, were there, they both wore the same mask. They took me around this small hall in the place, they had everything there, Tommy’s disks, Mars.” He looks over to Sapnap at that, knowing that he had been devastated when the fish had disappeared.

“He,” his voice gave out, “my wings, the ones that weren’t attached to my back, were hung on the wall, right in the very centre of everything anyone on this server holds dear.”

“But it hasn’t happened yet, meaning we can change it, right?” Karl sounds hopeful, which allows Quackity to try and see where he’s coming from. He can’t, sighing and flopping back against Karl, allowing himself to be held up by him.

He stills, hearing footsteps near the front of the house. Karl seems to have heard it too, his head swivelling towards the front door. He hears something heavy hit the ground, too heavy to be a single footstep. There are two knocks at the door, quick and sharp. They listen as they footsteps retreat, moving away from the door. Quackity stands, walking over to the keyhole and peeking out. There’s no one in sight, only a small package on the mat by the door.

He pulls the door open, grabbing the package then bringing it back inside, slamming the door and locking it, pressing himself up against it as he holds the package cautiously in his hands. Karl comes over, Sapnap not far behind as they all stare down at the package.

He begins to peel the paper away from whatever is being covered, a small compass and a letter revealing themselves. The compass shimmers, it’s attached to a lodestone, that much is obvious. He flips it over, looking for any engraving, something that might state its purpose.

He looks back to the letter, slowly unfolding it, he reads it aloud, “Hello there, we know who lives here, and we know where to find you now. You may think you’ve escaped my grasp, but you haven’t. My reach spreads across the whole of the lands. Count your moments of freedom, they’re ticking away. I have provided a compass, you will follow it to where it points. You can bring whoever you like. I’ll be waiting.” He pauses, breath catching as he reads the signature, “Dream.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	22. Chapter 22

They stand there for a while, just staring down at the piece of paper clutched in Quackity’s tight grip. Karl slowly eases it out from between his fingers, prying them off one by one so the paper doesn’t rip. He sets it down on the table, bringing Quackity’s hands into his own and wrapping them around his, holding them close to his chest. He doesn’t realise he’s shaking until Sapnap puts a hand on his shoulder, moving along to the base of his wings and smoothing the feathers down as he strokes along them.

He’s trying to get him to relax, he knows that, but he still feels anger towards the man, the one that can never seem to leave anyone alone, no matter how far they remove themselves from the situation, he always drags them back in, kicking and screaming. He can feel himself begin to get dragged back in, he had known it was going to happen, that it wouldn’t stop happening to anyone until the bitch was dead. Quackity grinned, lips curling as a plan began to form in his mind. Dream had said to bring anyone he liked. He would make sure he regretted that.

He repeated his plans to Sapnap and Karl, who’s smiles curled over their faces, matching to his in their glee.

…

He lays awake that night, staring at the ceiling as his two boyfriends curl up next to him, all three huddling for warmth in their arctic home. He makes patterns along the ceiling, contemplating what he was about to do. He closes his eyes, sighing softly. He just wanted peace, just a small ounce of peace. The peace he got hadn’t lasted, leaving him wanting more, unable to go back to the conflict he had grown used to whilst living in Manburg and L’Manburg.

He’s unable to rub at his eyes, one arm held by Karl like a teddy bear, the other wrapped around Sapnap. He’s grateful that they’re beside him, that he’s finally found some people that are willing to stick up for him, for them to remain by him, even in times of conflict. He was glad for that, if nothing else.

He sighed again, willing himself to sink into the mattress, trying to sleep. Knowing that he should. He closed his eyes, submitting himself to the darkness until sleep came for him. It took a while, thoughts and what ifs running through his head as he worried over the smallest details, every which way their plan could go wrong.

He worried until he was so exhausted he couldn’t think straight, all thoughts becoming muddled as sleep began to drag him under. He relished in the peace it brought him.

…

Quackity was rummaging through his enderchest, quickly sorting his items into his inventory, making sure he had potions. He had a few of Techno’s favourite, knowing that they were incredibly powerful, one of the reasons the man used them. He stowed them within an easy reach. The compass hangs around his neck, similar in style to the one Tommy wears. The boy never takes it off, seemingly too attached to it. He hasn’t seen any engraving on it, but it’s obvious there is with the way his hands run over the back, as if checking it’s still there.

He looks up as he hears Tommy and Ranboo entering the room, both with their posture straightened and fully geared in netherite.

“We heard you talking, we know what you’re doing. I, we, want in.” Quackity hesitated at that, not wanting to drag him into another conflict, wary of the fact that Tommy was on his last life. He was aware of how stubborn the boy could be, arguing until he got his own way or a sword through the chest. It was best to give in. He sighs, dropping his head down to send a prayer for their safety and sanity, “Yeah, sure, just make sure you’re fully decked out.”

Tommy grins, tail waving and seeming more confident than he had been in days. Ranboo still stood slightly hunched, his head nearly touching the ceilings as he stooped. He was fully equipped in netherite, a sword sheathed by his side and an axe over his back. There was a cat sat on his shoulder for some reason. One he distinctly remembered Ranboo did not bring with him. He squinted at the cat, Ranboo following his gaze and scooping it into his arms, “Sorry, sorry. Uh, this is Enderchest, he held them out underneath the arms, the rest of their body dangling and stretching out. They didn’t seem to mind, just meowing at him, showing off long, sharp rows of teeth as they yawned. “I didn’t want to leave them alone, they miss me when I leave,” he brought them back towards his chest, rubbing a gentle hand along their jaw.

Quackity can’t help but smile at the fondness he seems to have for the cat. “Any other pets?” Ranboo startles, turning to him with a slightly guilty look.

“Maybe?”

“How many,” he doesn’t mind the animals, it’s the food that he has to worry about, he doesn’t want them to starve.

“Uh, I have two cats, a bird and a rabbit?” He seems slightly unsure, as if he may have forgotten some, but Quackity leaves that be, knowing that he has a few memory problems. He totals up how much food they’ll need to feed them, coming out with them having enough.

“Will they be all right when we leave? We need to leave within the next,” he checks the clock, “ten minutes or so.” Ranboo nods, so Quackity turns back to his chest, pulling out a few turtle master potions and handing them to Ranboo and Tommy, along with a few regen and health potions. They take them gratefully, stowing them away quickly. Quackity sorts his inventory whilst Tommy and Ranboo wait around, preparing themselves to leave. Ranboo leaves at some point to put his cat back from wherever it came from, but is back within a few minutes.

When Karl and Sapnap arrive he knows it’s time to leave, pulling the compass from around his neck, resisting the temptation to smash it, knowing what they’re about to do will be much more satisfying. They all step outside, two boats between the five of them. Schlatt is there too, floating along behind them for moral support, that’s what he insists it is anyway. He chatters on about absolute nonsense, leading Quackity to tune him out slightly. 

They make their way down to the shore, Quackity listening as Schlatt talks about different fighting styles and which are best suited to fighting Dream. Quackity takes it all on board as he sets his boat down on the water, settling in it beside Karl and Sapnap. Tommy and Ranboo do the same. They push off, heading over the open water as Quackity gives them directions, Sapnap rowing at first. Tommy and Ranboo crack jokes with each other behind them, seeming to distract themselves from what they’re approaching.

They only fall silent once, Quackity looking back to check on them, he’s greeted by Ranboo rowing, Tommy pulling the compass around his neck up to eye level, showing something on it to Ranboo. Whatever it is makes Ranboo’s eyes sadden, looking up at Tommy before pausing for a moment to hug him, quickly resuming his rowing as Tommy drops the compass back down. Quackity turns around, continuing to direct them towards wherever they’re going. He pretends he hadn’t seen it, but he can’t help but wonder what the compass points to.

He watches the waves drift by, the foam splattering against the side of their boat. The deep blue of the ocean stretches far below, the occasionally fish darting underneath the boat, nothing but a small speck compared to the vast blue surrounding them. They’re so far out that there are no islands, no land, nothing in sight but expanses of blue and sea green waves. Schlatt still chatters on, apparently he doesn’t tire at the sound of his own voice, able to wax poetic about almost anything. Quackity completely tunes him out, ignoring any offended looks Schlatt might shoot his way.

He keeps his eyes on the horizon, the compass pointing in a straight line. He’s almost prepared for Dream wanting an underwater fight, but he hopes not, eyes searching for an island beginning to appear. It takes a while, but there’s eventually a small outcropping of green visible, the rest of the island coming into view not long after. He carefully adjusts the starps on his armour, thankful for the lighter plates of netherite he had crafted to go over his wings. He was unwilling to lose one or break the bone, just glad to have some kind of covering for them that wasn’t trying to shove them under a chestplate.

He tightened the straps on his chestplate one last time, ensuring that it wouldn’t slip whilst he was fighting. The island was visible now, leaving him with no more job, his done as soon as the island was in view. Karl was rowing now, arms moving rhythmically to push them through the water. He looks back to check on the other two, watching as Tommy rows and Ranboo checks over his armour. He glances back down at himself, allowing himself to get lost in the shimmering waves of enchantments that wash over his armour, casting a faint purple glow on his skin.

He jolts when the boat hits something, looking up at the island that is suddenly right in front of them. They had landed on a small rocky beach, their boats slightly on the shore. They get out of their boats, their boots hitting the ground with a loud clunk, sending a few pebbles skittering. He turns to Schlatt.

“Could you go see if you can locate Dream?” Schlatt nods quickly, no snarky reply making its way into the air around them. He moves off into the trees, passing through leaves without moving them, able to approach Dream unseen and unheard. They all stand on the beach, awaiting Schlatt’s arrival, waiting for him to come back and tell them where he is waiting. He doesn’t take long, coming back within a few minutes. He comes from the left of the trees he departed through, almost running back to them.

“He’s at the centre of the island, in a small valley. He’s perched in a tree in plain sight. He seems to be waiting for you.”

“Okay, Dream is at the centre, he’s in a small valley. Tommy, Ranboo?” He turns to them, “You know what to do, yes?” they both nod, making their way into the trees as they had discussed earlier, preparing to wait until their part of the action came into play. Quackity turned back to the other two, silently gesturing for them to follow him as he heads directly to where Dream is, following Schlatt as he guides them.

He steps out into a small valley, and as Schlatt said, Dream is stood on the branch of a tree, leaned back against the trunk, nonchalantly flipping his axe, catching it by the handle each time. He turns to face them as they enter, hood pulled up so they can only see his mask. He tilts his head to the side, watching them through his mask. It unnerves Quackity, the smile seeming too perfect, the white ivory colour of it too clean.

“Greetings.” Dream’s voice echoes around the clearing as he jumps from his branch, landing silently and making his way over to them. His gait is relaxed, as if they’re meeting as friends, not people fully decked out to fight. Quackity holds his sword at the ready, prepared for anything Dream might try and pull on them. He watches the man as he moves from side to side.

“You know, Tubbo was absolutely devastated when you disappeared, losing two people in one day absolutely destroyed him.” He seemed to be gleeful about the young president’s pain, “it made it all the easier to manipulate him, I could tell him that it would get you and Tommy back, and he would go along with it, whatever it was.” He was pretty sure the man was grinning under his mask, he wished he could crack it in half to find out.

He heard a crackling of flame behind him, not even looking back, knowing that Sapnap’s sword just burst into flame. Dream takes a half step back, watching them with a tilted head as they stand, staring each other down. Dream turns and runs away, Sapnap giving chase as soon as Dream begins to sprint. Dream turns suddenly, trying to bring an axe down onto Sapnap’s head, he retaliates with his sword, pushing the blade upwards, shoving harshly, causing Dream to stumble slightly.

He regains his balance quickly, widening his stance and preparing his axe. Sapnap charges him again, Quackity and Karl rushing behind him. Karl has a scythe, which Quackity doesn’t know where he got it from, but it looks cool and heavily enchanted, so he leaves it be. Karl sends a wide blow towards Dream’s chest, the blade scoring a deep scratch in Dream’s armour when he didn’t jump back fast enough. He hears him swear under his breath as he takes a few steps back.

Quackity takes this opportunity and drinks his turtle master potion, gulping down half the bottle in one go. He stashes the empty bottle in his inventory, readying his sword. He can already feel the slowness set in, but the strength courses through his veins, making it worth it. He hears a familiar pop in the air, Ranboo and Tommy appearing in a small cloud of purple particles. The ender hybrid lets go of Tommy, dropping him to the ground. They both draw their weapons, pointing towards Dream. The masked man doesn’t back down, taking his five opponents as a challenge.

He slashes at Karl several times, trying to pick them off it seems, he’s stopped when Sapnap jumps in halfway through his fourth strike, parrying blade, catching the axe underneath the head and flinging it away. Dream just summons another one to his hand, looking just as deadly as ever as the blade shimmers under the sunlight. Dream takes several steps forward, slashing at them with his new blade.

He catches Sapnap off guard first, snatching his sword away, quickly throwing it away, burning it in soul fire, extinguishing and destroying the blade. Sapnap just lights his hands on fire, summoning the flames from deep withing him. He grabs Dream’s fighting arm in his hand, holding on tightly, trying to pin the other to the ground. They can hear the sizzling of flesh, but Dream doesn’t even flinch, simply pushing off of the man and pinning him to the ground, knee on his chest, axe a millimetre away from slicing his neck open.

He looks back to them, “Drop your weapons.” His tone commands them to do so, first Karl the Quackity, soon followed by Tommy and Ranboo, drop their weapons. “Your armour too.” This is met with more reluctance, Quackity stowing a few pieces of it away, watching as the others did the same, dropping most of it in a pile at his feet. Dream is busy prying Sapnap’s armour from him, the other struggling the whole way through, even after Dream dumps a bucket of water on him, soaking him to the bone and making it impossible for him to light any kind of flame. Dream pries the last of the armour from his body, removing his knee from his chest and all but throwing Sapnap towards them.

Sapnap staggers slightly, still dripping wet, some of his hair falling in front of his eyes. It does nothing to conceal the burning hatred the man holds for him. “I don’t recognise you anymore Dream, you treat us all as pawns, things to be sacrificed in order for the king to win. I bet you think you’re the king,” he sneers, “Eret was a better king than you could ever be, and he was a traitor.”

Dream watches him impassively, face hidden behind his mask.

“Tommy,” he doesn’t turn to face him, “come here.” When Tommy doesn’t make any movement towards him, he turns his head, watching Tommy. Tommy takes a step forward, ears flicking, much more anxious now that he’s been stripped of all his defences. He stops a few steps in front of Dream, which the man quickly closes, his hand reaching out, yanking the chain around his neck forward, bringing the compass into view for everyone. He flips it over.

“Your Tubbo,” he croons, “how sweet.” He yanks hard downwards with the chain, breaking it. He pulls it away from Tommy. Ignoring the way the boy cried for it to be given back.

“He threw his in lava you know,” he said it nonchalantly, despite the way he was destroying the kid’s hope, one small thing at a time. The man was cruel, knowing the easiest way to worm into your heart, yanking any kind of hope from it in any way possible.

“Maybe we should do the same with yours,” he turns back to the group, “I wonder how much that would hurt you.” He is most definitely grinning now, the smile audible in his voice.

“What do you want, we’ve given you our armour, we’ve given you pretty much everything we own.” Dream turns to face him, “I want you back under my thumb, whether that is you locked up in Pandora’s Vault, or kept in chains for the rest of your days.”

Quackity took a step back, not expecting such a harsh response. His words weren’t as sugar coated as they normally were, the reality of their situation hitting them full force.

“Tommy,” the sugar is dripping from Dream’s voice again, “how would you like to see your disks?” Quackity sucks a breath in through his teeth, Tommy doesn’t respond. Dream laughs, “Well, it’s a good thing I’m going to show you anyway, isn’t it?” he leaves their armour lying on the ground, their weapons a few feet away from them. As Dream’s back is turned, he watches as Karl grabs his scythe, taking the opportunity to grab his own and others weapons as well, stowing them away quickly before Dream can see him. They follow him in silence, making their way down a cliff, over to a cliff face. 

Dream taps a block, and a door opens up in the wall, leading to a small blackstone podium, slightly risen, with an indented middle. “Stand on there,” they comply, not able to do much else, completely outmatched by Dream in every way possible. He watches as Dream flicks a lever, the sound of redstone moving beginning to echo below them. Dream jumps onto the platform, standing still as it begins to descend, bringing them into a brightly lit room. There’s a portal at one end, two risen platforms. Even from far away Quackity knows what rests on them, the small, darkly-coloured disks sat proudly on a bed of gold.

“The cause of all the war, was attachment, and do you know who brought that with them?” dream walks over to Tommy, “You.” He pokes him in the chest, messing with fate as his blade brushes against the fabric of his shirt.

“I cut off all of my attachment, it made me more powerful than anyone else on the server. Your attachments make you weak.” He sneers, laughing at their shocked faces. There’s a small side hall, and Dream heads down it, them following behind him cautiously. As they enter the hall, he can see a few things on display. There are two fish in a tank, a tropical fish and a salmon. They swim about in a frenzy. He watches as Sapnap saddens, staring at what is presumably his pet fish, Mars.

Further down the hall, there is a small pen, a blues sheep and a cow. The cow has a nametag around its neck, and Quackity already knows what will be written on it as he approaches. The nametag proudly states Henry. It’s Tommy’s cow, he looks around the hall more, finding that it more and more resembles the one he dreamt about. All the things that everyone held dear to them, and Dream had it all here. To hold some kind of power over them.

Dream is at the end of the hallway, in front of a small iron door. He fits a key in the lock, reaching inside before pulling someone out. It’s Tubbo, he realises, the boy looking tired, still in his presidential suit. He looks tiredly over at them, dark shadows under his eyes as Dream holds him up.

“Tell them what it’s like here Tubbo.” He sounds gleeful, too much to be genuine as he holds the boy up, one that he had apparently locked in a cell for who knows how long. Tubbo looks at them sadly, “It’s cold.”

He refuses to speak anymore, allowing himself to be dragged back across and into the main hall, where the disks are on proud display. They all follow behind him, trailing after him like they’re lost. Quackity wants nothing more than to leave, hoping that anything he had sent had gone through. He feels a small buzz from his pocket, the same pocket where his comms is stored. He allows himself a small smile, barely listening as Dream monologues.

“You should have paid me more.” Dream freezes, still holding Tubbo up as he turns around, watching as more and more people enter through the portal that he had lit, the one that he lit in an act of hubris, believing no one would dare challenge him. Quackity watches with excitement as more people flood in behind Punz. Karl pulls out his scythe, pointing it towards Dream, keeping him in place as two final figures enter the room.

Techno steps out of the purple, armour shimmering as Phil stands beside him, wings spread, their grey feathers gleaming with purple undertones in the light. Techno doesn’t hesitate, making it across the room in two bounds, ripping Dream away from Tubbo, allowing Tommy to catch his best friend and hold him in a hug, Ranboo coming over to them as they beckon him. Quackity leaves them to their moment, watching as Techno pins Dream to the floor, the masked man unable to escape, struggling under the piglin hybrid’s foot.

The piglin brings his axe to the man’s neck. He leans down, whispering loudly, allowing all of them to hear.

“You flew too close to the sun Icarus, it’s time for your fall.” The piglin grins as the blood splatters across his face, everyone in the hall watching as the blood seeps into Dream’s hoodie, staining the green a dark red. Everyone knew he was on his last life.

They leave him there, his wings broken from flying too high, too close to the sun. He claimed power that was not for him, and it burned him viciously. 


	23. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight warning for consumption of alcohol and drunk people. It's all of age, don't worry :D

Quackity tugged self-consciously at the suit he wore, unsure on the pale cream colour of it. He glances around the empty room he’s in. He watches as Karl stumbles through the doorway, the door opening rather violently, squeaking on its hinges. He’s wearing a similar suit to Quackity’s, but his has purple and turquoise accents instead of the light gold Quackity does. Sapnap enters the room behind him, still wearing his bandanna despite the formal clothing he’s wearing it with.

The clothes are apparently a tradition to wear in the nether for any formal occasions, there was apparently all kinds of different dress they had for the occasion, there were standardised ones for marriage though, ones for those getting married and those attending. Quackity had listened with interest as Sapnap explained it all, going on about the niche traditions and etiquette that was expected in the nether. Quackity hadn’t understood much, but was happy to let his fiancé ramble on about anything he wanted to.

“You do realise it’s bad luck to see each other right now, right?”

Karl tugs him into a side hug, “Because you really care about tradition, right?” They laugh at that, at the absurdity of what was actually happening in less than half an hour. He still couldn’t believe that Sapnap had put himself out there like that, proposing to them both on a small picnic. Sapnap had suggested it to allow the people that were settling in around their house some space. Quackity hadn’t expected to be led to a small clearing, adorned with lanterns and flowers, a small blanket and picnic already set out, waiting for them. He couldn’t believe it, but he was overjoyed that it had happened.

Phil pokes his head into the room, shooing the other two out and walking in himself. His usual poncho was replaced by a nicer one, less tattered and torn at the edges, more smart, better for the occasion. He heard Techno outside of the room, his low voice speaking to someone before Tommy burst into the room. He can hear Techno sigh outside before the piglin hybrid is poking his head around the doorway. His crown is gone, he realises, and he’s wearing fancy clothes. He’s wearing nether formal wear as well, his wildly different from Sapnap’s extravagant reds and oranges. It consists of more subtle hues, the material dark, most likely to help the important ones at the ceremony stand out.

Tommy is wearing a fitted suit, red and white of course, and he looks great in it. He also seems to have done his hair, the wild mess on top of his head tamed and combed back. They look like a family despite the different clothing they wear. He was glad that they were able to reconcile with each other, working past their problems in the months after Tommy got his disks back. They had all admitted their mistakes, Phil and Techno apologising to Tommy. Puffy had helped, showing them how to move forward, how to resolve their arguments in a constructive way. Quackity honestly does not know what he would do without that woman.

Wilbur walks into the room behind them, fully solid again. He remembers watching Tommy cry as he clung onto his brothers newly revived form. They had all ignored the way they both clung to each other, Wilbur pressing his face into Tommy’s hair and Tommy burying his face in his chest. Tommy had tried to give him his coat back, but Wilbur declined, saying it looked better on him. The seal hybrid grinned at him in the mischievous way he always did, showing off all his teeth as he smiled. He pulled Tommy away, reminding him that Ranboo was waiting for him with the flower baskets. At the reminder of his task Tommy ran off, back out of the room, almost crashing into Sally on the way out.

The shapeshifted walked into the room quietly, sending Quackity a soft smile as she gently pulled Wilbur from the room, walking him down the hallway and out into the fresh air. Phil finishes whatever he’s doing to Quackity’s wings. Preening them he thinks, as he admires himself in the mirror, his wings all in order, straightened and lying flat. He stands in front of the mirror, waiting for the ceremony to begin, watching as Techno leaves the room, Phil following him after saying goodbye, promising to return when he’s needed.

Quackity is left to his thoughts, thinking about all that had happened, about how good it was for him after he left L’Manburg. He doesn’t know where he would be if he hadn’t, but he doesn’t think it’s here.

He turns around as Phil enters the room, he offers his arm, which Quackity takes. He walks out of the room, down the hallway up to the large double doors at the front of the building. He watches as Sapnap steps up beside him, Bad holding his arm in the same way Phil is. They both push the doors open, walking outside and underneath the small canopy they have set up, there’s snow on the ground, and a few flakes floating through the air. Quackity enjoys the cold, he had wanted to hold the wedding outside to show where they had built their lives, Sapnap and Karl had been quick to agree, liking the sentiment in it.

He was being walked down the aisle towards Karl, who’s stood at the altar, grinning at them both. His smile almost splits his face in two with how wide it is, and Quackity can’t help but smile back. Tommy and Ranboo walk in front of them both, Tommy throwing flowers into people’s faces aggressively, Ranboo doing it properly but barely holding back his snickers at Tommy.

Wilbur is stood beside Karl, wearing his fancy suit, waiting to officiate their marriage. Apparently, he had signed himself up to a course once whilst drunk. He had gone through with it after, interested in being able to officiate marriages. Quackity’s glad for it, not wanting a stranger to be the one that marries them. He steps up onto the altar, Phil leaving him and sitting down beside Techno. Bad does the same when Sapnap steps up.

There are few people at the wedding, Puffy is there, sat beside Sally, who was invited because both Fundy and Wilbur were in attendance. Bad and Skeppy were sat in the row behind them, George sat in between them and Phil and Techno. Tommy had returned to his seat after he finished with the flowers, Ranboo sitting beside them. They sit next to Niki, who is sat a few seats down from Schlatt. Tubbo was stood up on the altar beside them, holding the rings.

He stands opposite from his two fiancés, them stood in a triangular shape in front of Wilbur. They man clears his throat, going through the official stuff and having them say their vows. Karl makes Quackity almost start crying with how genuine it is, Sapnap is crying and Tubbo looks close to tears, still holding the rings. Everyone’s smiling though, which is good. Sapnap goes through his vows, sounding sincere despite the few jokes he throws in. Quackity goes last, saying his vows with confidence, despite how awkward it makes him feel, exposing his feelings in front of all the people gathered.

They finish their vows, making their promises to one another before Tubbo hands them the rings, allowing them to slide it onto one of their husband’s hands. Quackity gives each of them a chaste kiss on the cheek, blushing as Schlatt shouts encouragements that people as young as Tommy, Tubbo or Ranboo should hear. His feathers ruffle up slightly in his embarrassment, ruining Phil’s hard work.

They seal their marriage with a kiss to both their husband’s each, walking down the aisle, hands joined together, those assembled watching them go, as they leave, Karl decides it would be funny to pick Quackity up off the ground, holding him under the arms and allowing him to struggle, wings flapping as he twists, trying to put himself back on the ground. It doesn’t work, Karl a lot taller than him.

He gets set down once they return back inside, the doors shutting behind them. He turns around, feathers extremely ruffled as they make their way down the hallway. Karl laughs at him, loud and squeaky, his tail wagging as he walks after Quackity.

“Q, don’t be mad, it was funny.” Quackity huffs, and he doesn’t feel like agreeing.

“Sure, it was funny.” Karl presses a kiss against his cheek, making Quackity lose all annoyance for the man. They return to their separate dressing rooms, focused on changing into less formal wear for the after party.

They reconvene outside of the hall that is already in use by the sounds of it. They push into there as a group. Nobody’s dancing yet, waiting for the newly wed to have the first dance before they begin. Quackity grabs a small drink for himself, downing it for a shot of liquid confidence. He bows to Karl, extending his hand, grinning.

“May I have this dance?” Karl eagerly takes his hand, practically bouncing on the spot as they begin to slowly move around the floor, shifting in rhythm to the music. Others begin to enter the floor, Sally and Wilbur taking it as a chance to dance together slowly. Bad and Skeppy enter the dance floor, giggling as they begin to dance together as well. The three of them dance, switching between partners as the song progresses. As it finishes they draw to a halt, pulling slightly more away from each other. Sapnap heads over to where Bad and Skeppy have sat down at a table, Karl moving away to talk to George.

Quackity is left standing off to the side, watching as Schlatt approaches him. The man puts a hand down on his shoulder, tugging him into a quick hug. The ram hybrid looks well-dressed. Probably the best dressed he’s been since coming back to life.

“I’m happy for you,” the man smiles, genuine. Quackity can’t help but smile back, taking the drink offered to him. He stands and talks to Schlatt as the evening progresses. His husbands return for him halfway through a conversation. Sapnap is obviously drunk, Karl a bit more than tipsy. Sapnap grabs his hands, fumbling a bit before pulling him out onto the dance floor. Karl follows after them, stroking Quackity’s wings a bit before latching onto him, holding him around the middle.

He allows them to pull him around the dance floor, aware that he’s the most sober of the three. After Sapnap stumbles and almost lands flat on his face, Quackity decides it’s probably time they make the short walk back to their house. He bids goodbye to all of their guests, a few snickering at the way Karl is clinging to him.

He turns and heads out the door, into the cold of the night air. The moon is almost at its peak, showing how long they had actually been there, the sun low hanging in the sky as the party had begun. The cold seems to sober the two with him up, Karl still remains clinging to him, just with better mobility and a newfound ability to cling to his front like a koala. He walks home slowly, Karl’s weight putting his balance slightly off, and having to hold Sapnap’s hand like he’s a misbehaving child. He sighs in relief once they reach their house, swiftly unlocking, opening and walking in through the door and locking it again.

He flicks a few lights on, the house completely dark. He carries Karl up the stairs, telling Sapnap to wait at the bottom, not trusting him to make it up on his own. He deposits Karl on the bed, which he whines at, reaching his hands out for Quackity.

“I’ll be back in a second, just wait a bit.” Karl continues to complain as he leaves the room, heading back down the hallway to where Sapnap has sat himself against the wall at the bottom of the stairs. He’s staring at his hand, admiring the gold band around his finger. Quackity heaves him up, one arm over his shoulder and guides him up the stairs, praying to any god above that he doesn’t trip and fall on his face.

They make it to the room, where Quackity begins to change into his pyjamas, sliding his wings through the slits in the back. He then helps Karl up and helps him get into his pyjamas. By the time he’s reached Sapnap, the man is already in his pyjamas, so he just pulls him to the bed, climbing into his nest and pulling Sapnap along. The man resists, pulling his hand away from Quackity. He looks back at the incredibly wasted man, he’s swaying on his feet for god’s sake.

“I can’t.” he slurs, which just confuses Quackity.

“Why not?”

“I’m married,” he points to his hand, indicating the ring on it. Quackity laughs at him, causing hurt to cross Sapnap’s face. “What’s so funny?” His words are slurring together more the more he speaks. Quackity laughs for a few seconds before composing himself.

“I’m the person you married, you dumbass. Get in the bed before you collapse.” Sapnap complies, getting into the bed beside Quackity. He basically falls into the pillow, cuddling up to Karl and holding him like a teddy bear. Karl clings to him as well, holding onto him, his arms wrapped around his waist and face buried in the crook of Sapnap’s neck.

Quackity allows himself to watch the drunk idiots he married, his husbands. God, he loves that word. He settles himself down on Karl’s other side, laying a wing over them gently, causing Karl to roll over to face him, leaving Sapnap to move closer to both of them.

Quackity feels safe, he’s felt safe since he saw Dream bleed out on the floor from Techno’s blade. But he thinks this is the safest he’ll ever feel, surrounded by the people he loved. He closed his eyes, the darkness washing over him, pulling him gently to sleep as he feels the warmth of his husbands beside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked the ending!  
> I've already started to write a new fic, so if you wanna check that out it's linked below :D
> 
> [Shifted Nature](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472240/chapters/72395862)

**Author's Note:**

> Come shout at me on Tumblr, or in the comments below! I wanna know what you think! 
> 
> Tumblr: http://inky-starss.tumblr.com


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